Unseal
by UnderdogHero
Summary: Sometimes you just want to be set free. To be unsealed. Sometimes that doesn't happen too easily and you need to lash out...
1. Chapter 1 Beginning

A/N: So here's the first chapter of my newest fic. This one it a pretty recently thought up fic, I thought for sure I would do Touya's story next. But anyways, this is my first time doing this kind, so excuse me for any mistakes. My Chinese isn't that good yet either, so I'm sorry if I get anything wrong in the future of this fic, I'm still learning. I also have a lot of trouble with titles, so I'd appreciate a little help with that in the future. Anyone who's willing to help with it can PM me and I'll send a list of what I'm working on that I need titles for.

**Unseal**

A young girl ran through the streets, tears running down her face. She heard the footsteps behind her, calm yet hurried. why her? Why was she next? These thoughts ran through her heas until she hit a dead-end. She turned around, fear in her eyes as she watched her attacker approach.

She sunk to the ground, hands curled up in front of her as she stared at the gun pointed at her head.

"Please..." She pleaded. "D-Don't..."

The one in front of her stared, red eyes glowing fiercely. The gun clicked as placed his finger over the trigger. He grinned.

"Bye-bye."

_Bang!_

Blood mixed in with tears as she fell to the ground, eyes empty and body unmoving. The figure turned away, dropping the weapon. It didn't matter, they wouldn't find him.

He was hardly human after all.

xXxXxXx

"So, guys, have you heard about all these murders going on?"

Shishido placed a newspaper in the middle of the circle, opened to the front page. The others leaned in curiously.

"It says here that just a few days ago they found a little gilr in an alley. Apparently she was shot in the head." He explained. "They found the gun, but when they searched for fingerprints, they couldn't find anything..."

Gakuto shivered. "That's so creepy." He said, fingers tightening around his fork.

It was lunch time, and the regulars were seated under one of the many trees surrounding Hyotei Gakuen. Oshitari picked up the paper, reading more of the article.

"It says this has been going on for a few months now, these mysterious murders." He said. "And that they're still looking for the killer."

"We better be careful going home." Choutarou said worriedly. "And not to stay out late."

Hiyoshi nodded, poking at the vegetables in his bento. He was so tired...

"Hiyoshi?" Atobe waved a hand in front of his face. He jumped, catching the small blue case before it spilled it's contents. "Are you okay? You look tired."

He did, and he was. He remembered looking in the mirror this morning finding horrible dark circles under his red, bloodshot eyes.

"It's fine, I've just been up pretty late. I want to get all my work done before break starts." He said, rubbing his eyes. His vision blurred for a second before he put the lid back on his bento.

"Not hungry?" Shishido asked, watching as he put away the blue container.

"Not really." He spread out his legs, dropping onto Choutarou's lap and closing his eyes. "Just let me get some sleep, I'll be fine." He closed his eyes.

xXxXxXx

_A scream coupled with the sound of static electricity sounded throughout the area, bright lights pouring out from the windows of the small building._

_A child lay in the middle of a circle, arms pinned down as the pain spread throughout his body. He heard a crash and several shouts of alarm, but he couldn't find the strenght to move. The symbols written in the circle spread around him, on his arms and legs. Another being was pulled into the cirlce, it's own screams in tune with the child. It disappeared in a flash of light, neither hearning more than their own breathing and heartbeat. The boy was lifted up suddenly, but he didn't move. He was so tired..._

_"I'm sorry.." The man carrying him breathed as he ran out the building, a second child waiting in the car a few feet away. "I'm so sorry..."_

_He was quickly handed off to another person, who craddled him in their arms, tears flowing down his pale face. He lost his hold on conciousness, right before the other spoke._

_"Wakashi..."_

xXxXxXx

So, like, my birthdays coming up? Yeah, dunno how I thought of this. Maybe I've been watching too much Higurashi... Anyways, I got this idea a few days ago, but I really can't believe I'm doing this one as a pair. I suppose it's okay though, since this one is relatively short. Yes, I am completely biased, so don't even mention it. Just don't. As the first chapter, this is pretty short, but they'll get longer as the story goes on. It's still pretty early, but I'm gonna head to bed now, cuz cleaning the second floor of the school does that to you.


	2. Chapter 2 Hao

A/N: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D:

Okay, now for an explanation for all the frowny faces. I'm totally just updating this to complain to you people about how they ended Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi. As much as I loved it, this and Junjou Romantica were way too short. Everyone pray with me that they continue tje series, cuz if they don't, I'll be very very sad. Which will delay updates. More so than my drive getting busted. Okay, on with the chapter, since there's not much to say here.

This chapter might be a little confusing, and it was for me too. But just try your best to figure out whose talking.

**Unseal chapter 2: Hao**

_The night, to them, was anything but silent and peaceful. Upon entering the house, they were immediately bombarded with questions and shouts. The fact that they had a bloodied and possibly injured child didn'y help one bit. After being set alone in his room, his injuries cleaned and bandaged, he drifted off into his mind._

_Upon opening his eyes, he was greeted with nothing. The space was pitch black, nothing in sight. He looked down, noting that he could see himself clearly._

_'_So it's not just dark_' He thought. '_Where am I?_'_

_"Your in you're mind." Someone behind him said. He turned quickly, meeting black and red eyes._

_Standing behind him was a boy about his age with snowy-blue* hair, with waves of black at either side. His eyes were black, unsurprisingly, but what he found most unique were his pupils. They were bright red, shining dully in the darkness. He was dressed in what seemed to be traditional Chinese clothing, the blue sleeves reaching just below his fingertips. He tilted his head. "Hello? You there?"_

_"H-Ha..." He didn't know what to say, and he was sure whatever he thought would be heard too. "Um..."_

_"So your my new host." The boy said, watching him carefully, as if taking in every detail. "Your just a child." That seemed to get a reaction out of his new 'host'_

_"S-So are you." He pouted. The other boy chuckled._

_"I'm far older than you think I am. I just happen to take on whatever appearance my host has. At least," He put on a thoughtful look, "That's what I'm guessing. I've never exactly been sealed before, I've only heard the stories."_

_A short silence passed before one tilted his head again. "So?" He said, the other one jumping. "What's you're name?"_

_"Wakashi..." He mumbled, but it seemed the other boy heard him._

_"What a weird name..." He pondered. "Can you tell me what country I'm in?"_

_"Your in Tokyo, Japan. This is where I live." Wakashi said. He was starting to feel oddly comfortable with this boy, even if they had just met. Usually he didn't warm up to people to quick, which was proven by the fact that he only had one friend. "Where are you from?"_

_"Hong Kong, in China." He said. When he listened carefully, Wakashi heard a bit of an accent from the other boy. "I was captured and taken here. I guess."_

_"You said you were sealed?" A nod. "In me." Another nod, and he frowned. "Well, great, now I'm an even bigger weirdo than before!"_

_The boy raised an eyebrow. "Weirdo?" He echoed. "You looked totally normal to me. Plain, even." Wakashi huffed._

_"I'm weird because my family isn't as rich as all the others at my school. Everyone makes fun of me, and I've only got one friend."_

_"Well," The snowy-haired boy started, "at least your not alone anymore. Look at your chest."_

_Wakashi did as instructed, and his eyes widened. Burned into his pale skin was what seemed to be a circle, with swirled lines and characters he didn't recognize._

_"That," He said, pointing to the design, "Is the contract that binds me to you. Those bastards probably signed it with your blood when they took you. And before you ask, yes, I saw. I saw everything..."_

_His voice became somewhat distant. He looked back up, his eyes full of regret._

_"Does it... hurt?" He asked, stepping up and gently touching the seal. Wakashi flinched, but soon relaxed._

_"I can't feel it, must be because I'm asleep." He said. "Do you know what this says?"_

_"It's in Chinese, so yes. But I don't think you'd want to know, it's not very important." He sighed._

_Wakashi blinked, his vision blurring for a second. The boy looked back at him._

_"You'd better wake up now. They're calling for you." He said, and Wakashi blinked again. He vaguely heard the voices of people in the background._

_"Wait." He said, "Before I, you know, wake up. What's your name?"_

_The boy blinked. "Yán luó_(阎罗, 閻羅**_)" He said._

_"Yan... Ruo?"_

_"No, Yán luó_._" He repeated. Wakashi furrowed his brows._

_"Yan Ruo." The boy face palmed. Then he remembered._

_"Wait, you're Japanese right?" A nod. "Right, you're alphabet doesn't have an L."_

_"Or a V."_

_"Whatever. Haven't they tought you this already?"_

_"I'm seven." He deadpanned. "Can I call you something else? Something easy?" A sigh._

_"Fine, what?"_

_Wakashi thought for a while._

_"Why not... Hao(_ハオ***)_?"_

_He thought for a while. Why not?_

_"Fine. Hao it is then."_

_With a smile, Wakashi began to feel himself drifting off. 'Hao' called after him._

_"You better bet that after this, I'm going to beat the Chinese into you!" He yelled, "Then you'll _have_ to call me by my name!"_

xXxXxXx

"Hao, could you please not hover around me? Literally?"

Hiyoshi sighed, pushing aside his history textbook. Several others like it were spread out across the table in the middle of his room, along with papers and assignments he was working on. The figure above - literally above - him sighed.

"But I'm soo bored!" He whined. "You've done nothing but study since you got back."

"I have a test tomorrow about China during the Opium War." He said. hao dropped next to him.

"You know, I was there, I can just _give_ you all the answers." He said with a smirk. Sometimes, he did like to flaunt his immortality. Hiyoshi frowned, not looking up from his practice sheet.

"I don't want to cheat." He said, looking back to his book. He wrote down a few more things before he dropped his pencil. "This would go a lot faster if you helped, you know."

Hao, with his elbows on the table, gave a bored look. "How so?"

"I'd get my work done and we'd be able to do whatever you want." A pause. "I'll even buy you that pudding you like so much." He said. Hao immediately straightened his back.

"Well, if that's the case, let's get started!"

xXxXxXx

"It seems there's been another murder."

Oshitari dropped the newspaper into the middle of the table, everyone pulling their trays back. Shishido pulled it closer, reading the headline.

"_Company director sliced open in his own office._" He shivered, attempting to cover up the picture. "It says his chest was sliced open and his heart was torn ou - No Gakuto, don't look at the picture - and his skull was crushed with what seemed to be a rusty pipe."

Choutarou shivered, clinging to his friend's arm. Shishido read on.

"A passing civilian happened to see the killer run by, but was knocked out on sight. The only thing she remembered was him having red eyes and short hair."

Hiyoshi let the juicebox drop onto the table, straw still in his mouth. "So it's proven that the one doing all this is male?" He asked.

"Seems like it." Shishido looked up from the paper. "Whoa, dude, what happened to you're arm?"

Hiyoshi held up his arms, which was covered in crisp white bandages. "I was playing with the neighbor's dog yesterday when it bit me. Guess it didn't like the sound of the motorcycle passing by." He said. "Bled a lot."

"Ouch." Gakuto winced. "Did it already get it's shots?"

A short silence. "I think." Another silence.

"Wait, what?" Shishido gasped. "Did you at least get it checked by a doctor?"

"Yes." A chorus of sighs followed. "He said there's nothing to worry about, so I'm fine."

"Honestly, how you manage to keep a straight face through something like that-" Atobe was cut off when a straw was flung at him.

"I didn't" Hiyoshi said, standing up with his tray in hand. "I cried the whole time."

Atobe watched him exit the lunch room, and ran a hand through his hair with a sigh.

"Somehow, I highly doubt that..."

xXxXxXx

Hiyoshi was halfway to the music room when Hao materialized beside him, his transparent form invisible to the passing students.

"They were loud." He said with a frown. "Can I kill them?"

"Just because your a death demon doesn't mean I'll let you touch my friends." Hiyoshi mumbled, in a voice so low nobody near him heard. "You can do what you want as long as it's within my limits."

Hao sighed, shaking his head. "Fine, fine."

xXxXxXx

Okay, so iwas gonna add the murder in here, but I figured I'd give away more than I already had. You guys can make you're guesses, but I don't plan on revealing anything until at least chapter 6. My flashdrive has started working again, so expect more updates and stuff.

* By "snowy-blue" I mean the kind of snow coloring you see in paintings.

** These are the two ways to spell his Chinese name. The first one is simplified, the second in traditional.

*** This is one of the two spellings for 'Hao' I couldn't remember the second one, so I stuck with what I could find.

So there's your second chapter, all done in less than two hours. i plan on doing a quick Christmas one-shot soon, so it'll be up... tomorrow, depending on where you live.

Excuse me if the Japanese and Chinese text doesn't show up, Doc Manager is being a jerk.


	3. Chapter 3 Trigger

A/N: Good morning people (or good night, depending on where ever you are in the world) Here's chapter 3. Yeah, I decided not to do that Christmas fic, because 1. I got distracted (Fire Emblem has taken over my life) and 2. I couldn't think of anything. I'm officially hooked onto Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. I know it's an old game, but I never got to play many when I was younger. Zelda and Super Smash Bros was all, with a little Pokemon and Mario. But enough about my fail childhood, onto my real note. Everyone has probably guessed who the killer is, thanks you weren't really supposed to guess, but I haven't stated why that person did it or anything really. HAO IS NOT EVIL despite what his namesake might say(Hao: Shut up. / Me: No make me) New OC -coughplotdevicecough- introduced this chapter, since I extended the fic a bit. I needed a trigger for the main event like in **On the Other Side**. Flashbacks will be underlined and in italics, time skips in italics only for future reference.

**Unseal chapter 3: Trigger**

_"Hao?"_

_Wakashi looked around the dark empty space. He was asleep, he knew, but he meant it this time. He wanted to know more about Hao's sealing and the reasons for him being in Japan. he took a few steps, wandering around in the darkness of his mind. Was it always this blank?_

_"Hao?" He tried again. No response. Maybe he found a way to leave his body? He felt a bit sad, he thought he really had someone to talk to. There was a sudden tap on his shoulder, causing him to jump. He turned to see Hao, red eyes gleaming._

_"What's up?" He said calmly. He had obviously not heard Wakashi calling for the past few minutes._

_"Where were you?" The boy demanded. "I thought you left." Hao snorted._

_"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. The seal is too strong at the moment, and even both of us combined wouldn't be able to break it." He paused. "At the moment."_

_Wakashi raised an eyebrow, which Hao thought for a moment was a strange look for a seven-year-old. "What do you mean 'at the moment'?"_

_"Well, at the moment you're magical ability isn't that great. Better than the usual child, but still weak. I myself am having my abilities halved by the seal. I meant that, in a few years, it's possible that you're powers will have grown enough to undo the seal."_

_Wakashi tilted his head. "What powers?" Hao sighed, preparing for a rather long explanaton._

_"Every being, human or not, possesses some amount of spiritual power. In most people, the power is dormant for their whole life, while others just need something to trigger it." He explained. "My sealing was what triggered you're powers, which is why you can see and talk to me."_

_"Okay." Wakashi said simply. He got most of what Hao was saying, he just had to let it process. "Go on." Hao nodded._

_"Certain people have the power already active at birth. These people are what you humans usually call 'mediums' or something. They already have their's the moment they're born, they don't need anything to activate it." He paused for a breath, looking expectantly at the boy. Wakashi crossed his arms, a thoughtful look on his face._

_"So... can other people see you? Or just me?"_

_"Just you, unless they can see spirits by themselves. If not, it all depends on it the spirit materializes in front of them completely."_

_"So not everyone has the ability to see spirits and... whatever you are." Hao frowned. "Is that correct?"_

_"Everyone has the potential, they just need a little push. Or something, I don't know, I heard it from a human back in Hong Kong."_

_"Ah!" Wakashi suddenly remembered why he was here. "That's right! I wanted to ask you something!" Hao raised an eyebrow._

_"well? Go on, we haven't got all day."_ Or rather, we rpobably do, but it's best to get it done with sooner. _he thought._

_"Why were you brought to Japan? Couldn't they ahve just sealed you in someone else's body? Why go to the trouble of flying all the way to Tokyo with a... spirit, just to seal it in a random kid?"_

_Hao thought for a moment. "I suppose it's because of _that _theory." He said._

_"What theory?" Wakashi tilted his head again. Hao sighed._

_"Some say that taking a spirit or demon or whatever from their native area will weaken it. The farther they get from their home, the weaker they get. I suppose they took me to Japan in hopes of my sealing being easier. And I proved them wrong."_

_Wakashi raised an eyebrow. "Really?" Hao scoffed._

_"Of course. I wouldn't let some lowly human trap and seal me so easily. I'm proud to say I killed at least four of them before they finally got me in that box. Even then six of them were injured enough to be hospitalized for months."_

_" Really now." Wakashi deadpanned. Hao frowned again._

_"You don't believe me."_

_"I believe you put up a fight, that's it."_

_Hao, rolled his eyes, then his look darkened. "Still, to have been captured so easily and sealed withing a child, the rest of the court are probably laughing their high asses off, those bastards."_

_This caught his attention. "Court?"_

_"Every district has a court of gods, demons, spirits and sprites. I belong to the higher demon court, as the third advisor."_

_"How many are there in each court?" He asked curiously. This wasn't something you heard everyday, so he wanted to get as much as he could out of the moody demon._

_"Seven to each, end the lower you're number is, the stronger you are." He smirked. "Now do you believe I'm able to kill four men and severely injure six."_

_"Not really." He honestly didn't care too much about manslaughter as much as his classmates thought he did. Perhaps having a near insane cousin supported the claim. Hao frowned again._

_"Fine, don't believe me. Anyway, I just remembered I'm not supposed to be telling you any of this." He said, but shrugged. "Not that I varre though, they can't find me, even if they tried."_

_"Eh? Why not?" Wakashi asked, and Hao put on a bored expression._

_"Spirits that enter a human body can't be found so easily by other spirits. It all depends on power. The stronger you are, the harder it is to find you. Since I am exceptionally powerful, only those in the first and second chair will be able to find me. You know, if they bothered." He shook his head. "I highly doubt it, I always was the brat of the group." He gave a sad, almost regretful smile. "I was always yelled at for communicating with humans more than necessary. But who could blame me?"_

_Wakashi wasn't that surprised to hear that Hao had walked among people more times in his life than he could count, it was just something he expected a demon to do. He felt a small pull, his eyes widening in realizaton. He was waking up. Or being woken up, by the sounds he was hearing behind him. Hao looked back up._

_"You better go now, before the woman freaks out over you._

_"Wait, before I go, I wanna know something." Hao nodded. "Is there any other way for me to talk to you? Other than being asleep?" He didn't exactly like the idea of having to sleep whenever he wanted to talk to the demon. Hao tapped his chin._

_"I could try materializing putside of you, but I don't know if it will help. And even if it does, there's a good chance my presence alone could attract and spirits in the area."_

_"It's worth a shot, right?" Wakashi said, smiling a little. "It's better than this setting, anyway." He gestured around them to the unending darkness. Hao hummed._

_"So be it then."_

xXxXxXx

Hiyoshi peeked out from behind the tree. No one. Good, he was safe. He quickly made his way to the next tree, weapon in hand, finger over the peeked out again, about to sprint for the building when-

_SPLASH!_

He scolwed, head bowed and dripping wet. He had gotten shot in the face, and by his best friend no less.

"Waaii~ I got Wakashi!" Choutarou cheered, water gub raised above his head.

Yes, the Hyotei boy's tennis team was having a water fight, in Atobe's backyard.

He growled, brushing back his bangs and glared at his friend. Choutarou flinched, hand shaking slightly. He had only gotten him by surprise,and now that the shorter boy's attention was on him, he doubted he would get out of this mess dry.

"Choutarou..." Hiyoshi said slowly. He raised the blue water gun, hand on the pump. "I'll give you five seconds to get out of my sight before I shoot."

"EH? Only five-"

"One." He started counting. Choutarou turned, slipping on the wet patch of grass. "Two."

He watched in amusement as Choutarou scrambled away, running around a corner. hE mentally counted _five_ before he took off for his taller friend, dodging the wet grass. Hao materialized beside him, not running but managing to keep up.

"_I was wondering what all the noise was out here_." He said with a yawn. He smirked. "_A water gun fight, eh? Mind if I help out_?"

"If we run into Atobe-buchou, go ahead. I already got Oshitari-san and Mukahi-san earlier beind the tool shed, and Akutagawa-san is awake now. Kabaji won't touch me, even if Atobe-buchou tells him to, I just have to act my age." He snickered. "That just leaves Shishido-sempai and the big idiot in front of me." While he didn't mean it literally, Choutarou was certainly acting it. He stopped to breath, which let Hiyoshi catch up, despite the five second head-start. He leaped forward, tackling his best friend and pinning him to the ground. He lifted the plastc toy, pointing it at his face.

"Any last words." He said jokingly. Choutarou seemed to think for a while, before he shook his head. While this third hit would get him disqualified from their match, Hiyoshi had only gotten hit once, so there was nothing more he could do. Hiyoshi rolled his eyes and pulled the trigger, laughing as Choutarou's eyes instinctively closed, water pouring down his face. "Payback."

Choutarou sat up, wiping his face. "Your so mean, you didn't have to aim for the face."

"And you didn't have to aim for mine." He smirked. "I get the feeling Atobe-buchou will be saying the same thing though."

Choutarou patted his head. "Do you really think you'll get him? He already got Shishido-sempai earlier." Hiyoshi raised an eyebrow.

"Was that how you found me?" He asked. Choutarou nodded, a bit red.

"I was running from-"

"Ore-sama."

Both boys turned around, and Atobe smirked. Hiyoshi stood up, watching him carefully. Choutarou stood up after, whispering to him.

"Kabaji-kun can't do anything, we managed to get him earlier. He's with the other sempai." Hiyoshi nodded, raising his water gun slightly. He heard footsteps behind him, and he figured Choutarou had gone back to the back of the mansion to the others. Atobe grinned at him.

"Just you and me, is it?" He moved his gun from it's position on his shoulder, poiting it at his sucessor. "How about we make things intersting? Winner get's to do whatever he wants with the loser." Hiyoshi raised an eyebrow.

"Atobe-buchou, isn't that bet kind of old? Everyone does it, I figured you'd have something else in mind." He sighed. Atobe felt his eyebrow twitch, before his grin widened.

"What? Are you afraid you'll lose?" He purred, and Hiyoshi glared at him. "Because when I win, you'll be glad your my favorite."

Hiyoshi blushed a bit, raising his gun. "_If_ you win, because I don't plan on losing."

With that he quickly shot out a blast, purposely shooting off a bit to the right. Atobe, as expected, leaned in the opposite direction, he took the chance to shoot a well-aimed jet of water into his captain's chest. Atobe chuckled, quickly catching Hiyoshi off guard and getting the front of his shirt wet. "That's two for both of us then." He said, and Hiyoshi's eyes widened. "That's right, I saw that headshot you took earlier."

"And I suppose someone managed to hit the almighty Atobe-sama?" He smirked, dodging a shot aimed at his face. Atobe was frowning.

"Quiet, Shishido merely took me by surprise is all." He hissed. He charged forward, tackling the laughing boy to the ground, effectively covering both their clothes in mud. The rolled around for a few moments before Atobe managed to pin both his arms down, finanlly spraying him in the face with the half-empty toy. "I win."

Hiyoshi pouted at him, hair sticking to his face. Atobe chuckled, brushing back his bangs. "How cute, now stand up, we need to get changed before you get sick again."

He stood up, holding out a hand to the younger boy. Hiyoshi took it, still a little miffed at him, but followed him back to the mansion, where the others were waiting.

"He got you too?" Shishido said, head resting in his palm, elbow on his knee. Hiyoshi nodded, sitting between him and Choutarou, leaning on his friend.

"I'm cold." He said. It wasn't much of a shock, since his shirt was now dripping wet from the extra water Atobe had poured on him on the way back. Which he returned full force with his own. He felt Choutarou wrap an arm around his shoulders, attempting to share a little warmth. Which was hard, considering he himself was soaked.

He yelled when Atobe not only forced him to stand up, but began pulling him towards the house.

"If your cold then go inside and take a bath." He said. Hiyoshi ignored the frown on his captain's face, attempting to get out of the older boy's grip, when Atobe suddenly stopped.

"Can we help you?" He asked. Hiyoshi stepped closer, looking over the taller boy's shoulder to get a look at the visitor. A man was standing at the door, dressed in a suit and carrying a small bag with him and had shoulfer length black hair. He stepped into the yard at Atobe's nod, walking towards the group.

"I'm sorry for interupting you're fun, but I'd like to ask you boys a few questions. Hiyoshi had to surpress a gasp when Hao suddenly materialized next to him, eyes narrowed.

"_This guy_..." He started. "_He's making me suspicious. Be careful_." Hiyoshi didn't nod, because he knew it would be weird if he did. Choutarou glanced at him briefly before turning his attention back to the man, who pulled out a small leather case. He flipped it open, revealing a silver badge.

"I'm Minamoto Keiji, I'm investigating the case involving the strange murders going on. They've been happening mostly in this area, so I've been questioning residents who live around here." He said. Hao covered his mouth.

"_Wakashi, I'm going back in._" He said, his voice forced. "_This guy... something about him makes me sick, and not in the 'I can't stand him' sort of way. I mean _sick_ sick._" With that he faded away, and Hiyoshi felt the familiar pull of someone entering his mind.

"What do you want to know?" Atobe said. He sounded as if he was doing his best to sound polite, and Hiyoshi couldn't blame him, it was getting pretty cold. "If it's about the murders, none of us have anything to do with it."

"I'm sure." The man said, giving a reassuring smile. "I just want ti know if you've seen or heard anything."

"None of us live in the area." Oshitari said. "Only Atobe does." The man looked at him.

"Is that true?"

Hiyoshi stepped slightly behind Atobe, who glanced him in surprise. "We all live in different areas of Tokyo." He said. Even though he was no good with strangers, Hao was right, this man gave him a... strange feeling. Like they were going to meet him again. His one sentence had given him the man's attention now, which made him bite his lip. He was beginning to feel a bit sick.

"I see." He said, then leaned a bit. "Are you okay? You look pale."

Was he? Well, considering the fact that he was soaking wet and a something in the air was making it a bit hard to breath, he probably was.

"I'm cold." He said, and mentally slapped himself for sounding like a small child. But seeing as it was his only way out of the situation, he had no other choice. THe man pulled back.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Now that I look at it, your all rather wet." He glanced at the gun in his hand. "Water gun fight?" He nodded. "Well then, I'm sorry for bothering you. I'll be on my way." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small amount of cards. "Call me if any of you see anything."

Hiyoshi looked at the card in his hand, his other hand tightening around Atobe's out of instinct. The older boy looked at him, confused.

"Hiyoshi?"

"Atobe-buchou, can we go inside? It's getting hard for me to breath, I think I need to change." He said. He felt it too, the tightening of his lungs. It normally only happened when he trained for hours without rest but it seemed like something in the air had gotten to him. Atobe nodded, pulling him along and into the house.

After a while, he exited the bathroom, sitting on the bed while Atobe dried his hair. "Stay awake, you look like your about to collapse." His eyes felt tired, another familiar feeling tugging at him. The lure of sleep.

"Atobe-buchou, I think I need to sleep for a while. I just don't feel good..." He said, his eyes falling shut.

"Wha- Oi! Hiyoshi!

xXxXxXx

"Wakashi, wake up."

Hiyoshi opened his eyes, being met with another pair of glowing red ones. Hao shifted slightly, Hiyoshi's head on his lap. "You fainted."

"I figured." He sighed. "What's buchou doing now?"

Hao paused for a while, looking off into the darkness that surrounded them. "He's freaking out. Apparently you fell asleep right on him, and he doesn't know what to do."

Hiyoshi sighed, closing his eyes. He vaguely heard his name being called, more voices joining in. "They're trying to wake me up."

"Useless. Once your out, your out. Choutarou should know this, he was there." Hao frowned.

"Don't remind me." He said with a sigh. "I don't think he liked it then. It's not eveyday you see you're best friend get kidnapped, then a demon sealed into his body." Hao gave a rueful laugh. "So what was that? Something made the air feel thick... and who was that guy?"

"Dunno. But I think he could see me." Hao said. HIs voice sounded distant. "We need to be careful. Even if he couldn't see me, he definitely knew I was there. He could be trouble." He looked down. "We need to watch our movements from now on, you've been focusing too much on one place, it's going to draw attention. Attention we don't need, especially if you want to keep you're 'friends' out of it." He said the word 'friends' like it was some sort of curse.

"That guy..." He mumbled. Hao nodded.

"He needs to go."

xXxXxXx

OKAY SO THIS TURNED OUT LONGER THAN IT SHOULD BE.

Ahh I went totally off track somewhere. The new guy was supposed to mee them at their school, but instead I changed the setting when I thought 'water gun fight'. Yeah, made it weird, but it worked out. You've probably already guessed everything, but no more, cuz i want to reveal it in a big way.

so I need help in FF: Crystal Chronicals. How do you train a new character in year 4 if you've visited all the easy areas more than once? It's tough.


	4. Chapter 4 Meeting in the rain

A/N: So yesterday was my birthday, and I spent it eating in a restaurant built inside a supermarket. _Probably_ not the best way to celebrate turning 16. But anyways, as I told someone before, I planned on updating this after. Honestly, I just needed something to do since I was bored and didn't want to sleep yet. I need to stop staying up so late. Oh, right, just one more week before the ShinTeni anime premier! Can't waaaaiiit~

**Unseal chapter 4: Meeting in the rain**

Hiyoshi sighed, making his way to the club room. It was Saturday, so he only needed to go to club practice today. Not that he'd be able to concentrate in class, after that conversation with Hao.

_"So we're going to wait a while?"_

_Hao nodded, hands on his lap. Hiyoshi glanced around the empty space. He thought he'd seen enough of this place since he and Hao went through with the plan of materialization. That being said, this was the first time in a few years he'd been here._

_"We need to see if he's really a threat or not. If he goes into this 'investigation' too far, we'll have no choice but to act." Hao said. Hiyoshi's attention snapped back to the demon in front of him, who appeared very tense. "If not, we'll leave him be. But until then, try to avoid all contact with him. You may built up tolerance, but remember, it's beginning to build up in you're friends too, so avoid being around them too much also."_

Hiyoshi felt his heart drop. He remembered Hao telling him the most he could be with his friends would be roughly aroud seven hours a day, which, given their schedule, was just enough. Club practice was only two hours on regular days, and he highly doubted he'd be around them for more than five. On the other hand, today it would be four, so he _definitely_ couldn't hang out with them afterwards.

He slid the open the door to the room, finding it empty. He blinked. Was he early? Or late? Slowly, he went for his locker, and found a note taped to the front.

_Hiyoshi,_

_Team meeting in the library. Upon finding this note you will have about six minutes. I will know when you find this._

_Atobe._

Hiyoshi blinked, the looked at the clock on the wall. A minute had passed. And the library was at least five minutes away. Panic swelled inside him as he made a run out the door, passing students on the way to the library. True to his word, Atobe had pinned a sign that said _Tennis team regulars meeting_ on the door. There were about three girls attempting to peek in through the window, but quickly fled in sight of him. He tore the door open, running as quietly as he could past the librarian. He saw the team in the back, where they usually had their meetings, and Atobe holding what seemed to be a stopwatch. He looked up, and smiled, pressing the button on the side and said something to the rest of the team, who turned to see him stomping down the row of bookshelves.

He pulled out a chair, falling into it and attempting to catch his breath. He glared at his captain.

"What?" Atobe said inocently, but the smirk on his face said otherwise. "I gave you six minutes."

"Five." Hiyoshi corrected, earning himself a raised eyebrow. "The library is a five minute run from the clubroom." Atobe waived him off.

"Anyway, about this meeting..."

xXxXxXx

Hiyoshi left in a rather bad mood. Not only was the meeting totally pointless, it had gotten interupted at least three times by their favorite trio _and_ kicked out of the library.

He ran a hand through his hair, sighing. At least he could go home now. Although, some god(or a certain white-haired demon we all know) decided to throw fate at him and make his day worse. He looked up, noticing with dread the black-clad man that stood at the school gate. He felt the familiar feeling of the air around him constricting, making it hard for him to breath.

_Maybe I should go out the back..._ He thought warily, turning around so that he wouldn't be noticed. So far so good...

"Ah! Hello there!" He flinched. Dammit, so close! He turned to see the man walking towards him, smiling brightly. As much as he wanted to call himm out on the fact that a police officer shouldn't be so happy while on an investigation, he knew his manners. He also knew that ignoring said manners could get in him trouble that he didn't need. "How have you been?"

"Fine." He said simply. He didn't need this right now, he wanted to - _needed to_ - get home. "You?"

"Great! I've actually..." He paused, his eye roaming over to something over Hiyoshi's shoulder. Hiyoshi looked over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. Hao stood there, transparent, unmoving, like a hunter in a fox's line of sight. He turned back to the man, who was still watching the space behind him. He blinked, shaking his head lightly. "I'm sorry, it just looked like there was someone behind you." He flinched.

"My family, besides martial arts, deals with spiritual confrontations. I accompany my grandfather from time to time, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was something... attached to me." He spoke the word 'attached' in a way that made Hao snicker. "Did you need something, or can I go now?"

The man blinked, seeminglt surprised about how open he was about his family's occupation. He smiled. "You remember my name, right?" He asked hopefully.

"Minamoto... Keiji." Hiyoshi answered, after filing through his memory. He recalled the card he recieved the other day, the print burned into his brain. That, of course, wasn't the only thing burned on the stove. "Right?" He nodded.

"That's right! Actually, I wanted to ask you something..." He said, and Hiyoshi nodded, waiting for him to continue. "You said you and you're friends all live in different areas of Tokyo right?" A nod. "Yet you all attend the same school?" Another nod. "I see..."

Hiyoshi felt his blood run cold, and Hao shivered beside him.

"_You need to leave_." He said - demanded even. "_We're running cold here, make up an excuse or something_," He faded away, back into the safe walls that were his host's mind. Hiyoshi blinked, realizing that Keiji had been talking to himself half the time.

"I'm sorry, Minamoto-san, but I have to get going. I have training to get to..." He started. This seemed to snap the man out of his thoughts.

"Ah, right, I'm sorry to have kept you here so long..." He looked to the school building, before turnind back to Hiyoshi. "I'll let you go now, theres still some things I need to do around here." He paused. "Before we part, what's you're name?"

Hiyoshi thought for a moment, debating over whether or not ot was a good idea to give you're name to a (not total) stranger. Well, he _was_ a police officer.

"Hiyoshi Wakashi." He said. The man in front of him nodded twice before waving good-bye, heading towards the school. Hiyoshi tilted his head slightly before walking back towards the front gate. He looked up, noticing the grey clouds that began to fill the sky.

"I hope there's not a storm." He mumbled.

xXxXxXx

Hao breathed in, holding his breath as another boom of thunder sounded throughout the area. Hiyoshi had locked himself up inside his room, under the blankets the moment the thunder hit, so Hao took that opportunity to slip out. He stood there, the rain passing through his transparent body, staring up at the sky. He vaguely saw the forms of birds flying about, then shook his head. Those were no birds.

He stood his ground as the beings swooped down, landing behind him. He didn't dare move, he didn't want to spoil their fun.

_"Yán luó"_ One said, and he tilted his head back a bit to look it in the face.

"Ah, _Qín liú_, what brings you to Japan?" He asked casually. He stifled a laugh at the look he got from the bird demon. "I don't suppose your here for a simple friendly greeting."

"I'm not." He said, then he turned to his companion. The other, which he noted to be a crow, bowed his head slightly.

"_Wūyā_." He greeted, still not turning to face them completely. "What brings the fifth and sixth advisors here?" He almost sneered.

"You are to return to Hong Kong with us. Boss wants you back immediately, says you've overstayed you're visit." Wūyā said calmly. Hao laughed, Qín liú to glare at him.

"Return?" He laughed. "Even if I could I wouldn't want to!" He turned to face them now, a maniacal gleam in his eyes. "You see gentlemen," He started teasingly. "I've been sealed."

Both demons looked at him with raised eyebrows and wide eyes. "Sealed?"

"That's right." He said playfully. He knew explaining things would only get him into more trouble, but he found it fun, thrilling. "Inside a teenage boy, barely into his years, and cowering in fear of the thunder."

"Impossible." Qín liú sneered. "You are the third advisor, there is no way you could be sealed within a _child_, much less captured." Hao chuckled.

"You'd be surprised what kind of stuff goes on in Hong Kong, especially since the higher ups left me in charge of the area. And without me there, you people can't touch it. Has something been going on that I'm not aware of?" His voice took on a dangerous edge, as if daring them to say something wrong with the area he protected with his life and soul - literally.

Both men stepped back, seemingly startled by the chage in mood. Hao scowled. "Leave my sight before I make you." He growled, then he smirked. "Oh, and be sure to tell dear_ S__hīzi_ _Xiānshēng_ about my little... conditon. Also let him know that I don't plan to return for quite a while."

He watched in amusement as the two did as ordered, and his smirk slowly fell to a sad frown. He looked back to the window, watching as his host slowly sat up and called for him. He smiled sadly.

"I'm so sorry..."

xXxXxXx

So I didn't get to add a time skip here, but it's almost three and I really want to get some sleep. I thought up a new fic again, but it wasn't that good, so I dropped it. So we've met more characters and I'm going to start revealing some motives in the next chapter, along with a name guide and translations, as they will be needed later on. For those of you who know Chinese better than I do, help is greatly accepted.

Wūyā - Crow(simplified)

Qín liú - Bird(simplified)

Shīzi - Lion(simplified)

Anyway, not much to say here other than please wait another week or so for the next chapter and hope your enjoying the fic.


	5. Chapter 5 Back then

A/N: Sorry for the long delay everyone, but Katekyo Hitman Reborn has taken over my life. It's both good and bad, as now I have twice as many fics on my list. D: Anyways, now that I'm waiting for mangafox to update, I've decided to continue, since I've got nothing to distract me now. Kinda. There's still that pile of doujins. Anyways, I dunno if I'll start those fics right away or if I'll do another PoT fic that I've really been wanting to start.

So this chapter starts off with Hao's daily life and what he does for fun, as I couldn't save this stuff for the post-end of the fic. We get to see a little more of his back story here. The flashbacks are in a specific order according to the situation, so do you're best to figure out which happens when.

**Unseal chapter 5: Back then**

"I can't believe you seriously ditched me in the middle of a thunder storm."

Hao rolled his eyes. After returning from his walk, he was greeted with a pillow to the face and a string of curses directed at him. Afterwards he was forced to sit outside the shower door. Since that was now getting boring, he decided to lean on the sink and trace pictures on the mist-covered mirror. He just finished his lion and dog, and was now getting started on his bunny when a sudden thought came to mind. He looked at the half-finished bunny and sighed.

_A hand was extended to him, and he stared at it cautiously. Were they serious? After what they did?_

_He looked up to the face the man in front of him, the to look at the boy next to him. They looked to be the same age, but he didn't have the time to think about it when he felt movement next to him. He looked down to see a girl staring up at him, eyes wide and sad. He looked back to the extended hand, frowning._

_"And if I refuse?" He asked. He didn't know why, he already knew the answer._

_"Do you really think you can?"_

_I wonder how those three are doing..._ He shook his head. _No! I don't care, this is their fault anyways._ He crossed out all the animals drawn and huffed, sitting on the floor.

"What are you doing?" The question made him jump, and he quickly stood up.

"Wondering who to curse in my boredom, anyone come to mind?" He asked with a smile. Hiyoshi frowned.

"Yeah, and the bastard's right in front of me." He turned to walk out the door, towel over his head and already dressed. Hao frowned back.

"Jerk."

xXxXxXx

Hao was bored. Not only that, but he was being _ignored_.

He decided to follow Hiyoshi into his classroom for once, instead of waiting outside and walking around the school. It wasn't like he had had to stay by the boy's side all the time, as long as he was within the seal's range he could go where ever he wanted. He decided to do just that.

Without even waiting for a response from the one seated next to him, he stood up and walked out the door. No on could see him, so everyone (minus Hiyoshi, who was used to it by now) was rather surprised when the classroom door opened and closed by itself.

He settled with walking around the small grove of trees to the left of the school, where he could view everything clearly. He had to admit, the scenery was rather nice, despite the building being in the city. The trees planted around the school gave it a natural feel, along with the small patches of flowers growing in random places. It was nearing the end of winter, so most of the snow had already melted, though it was still rather cold. What prompted those boys to have a watergun fight inthat weather...

_"Everything in nature is beautiful, don't you think boy?" An old man said, sitting in a wooden chair by the window. a small, white-haired boy looked up from the pile of blocks to gaze at the man._

_"Yes." He said simply, returning to his task of stacking the multicolored cubes. The old man glanced at him, the went back to stare out the window._

_"Do you like people?" He asked suddenly. The small tower toppled over, the blocks scattering all over the floor. The boy hesitated._

_"I..."_

Hao snapped back to reality, shaking his head furiously. Why had he decided to think about that? What about this scenery reminded him about the years he spent in Hon Kong with the old man? he didn't want to think about it.

He stiffened. He heard the ruffling of leaves and soft footsteps approaching him. They weren't of a human, those steps were far too cautious.

"Who's there?" He asked aloud. The approach stopped for a second before the person fully revealed herself.

"cautious as always arent't you?" The woman said, now standing next to him. He grunted in response, not bothering to look at her. "What, no 'Hello _Húlí_, how are you?' this time?"

"Step off vixen." He growled. She backed up a bit, much to his amusement. "What is one of the underlings doing here?" He finally looked at her, red pupils thinning. The fox flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Master wants you back in Hong Kong, there's no order of the demon in charge isn't there to overlook everything." She told him. The small smile never left her lips, but it was anything but taunting. Hao's eyes softened.

"I don't plan on going back any time soon, and I'm sure you've heard-"

"That you're sealed, right?" She cut him off. A sigh. "You know master can easily get rid of the contract, yet you refuse to ask for help."

"What makes you think I want any?" He said curiously. "I can take care of it myself, you know that. Besides, I'm sure they could find someone else to take my place."

Húlí sighed again. "Yán luó, no one has the same skill as you." He smirked a little. "Besides, there's no one powerful enough to take you're place as the third. Even if there was, we'd need you anyway." Then he frowned.

"Give me one good reason to go back to that place." He said, with no emotion at all. "Tell me one thing that ties me to that place, one being there that I could care more about."

She seemed to think for a while. "Isn't there anyone there you like? What about _Gǒu_?"

"That stupid dog too nice, it stopped being cute the moment he said 'okay' when I threatened to rip his throat out."

"_Wūyā_?"

"The crow's an idiot."

"_Qín liú_."

"Stuck up."

"_Tùzǐ _?" Hao thought for a moment.

"As much as I have nothing against the girl, she's far too quiet. And innocent, Qín liú hit me over the head with a radish the last time I cursed in front of her."

"That was you're own fault." She replied. "And _Shé_?" At the mention of that name, Hao let out a crazed laugh.

"That bastard snake? He's probably glad I'm gone! He's tried everything to get rind of me, since he knows he can't touch me while _Shīzi Xiānshēng_..." He trailed off, smile dropping from his face. Húlí came around to look at him.

"And Shīzi? What about him?"

Hao growled, turning away.

"I hate him."

xXxXxXx

"Where did you disappear to?"

Hao looked up from his seat under the cherry tree. Hiyoshi sat down next to him, glad that they were hidden from view of the other students.

"Went for a walk." He said in a small voice. That talk with Húlí brought back many forgotten - unwanted - memories. He couldn't bear to be near her anymore, so he sent her away. Along with a message to the rest of the court to stop bothering him and not interfere with his buisness.

"I see..." Hiyoshi said next to him. A long, uncomfortable silence settled between the two before he sighed. "I'm not going to ask what's wrong, since it doesn't concern me. "He paused. "But if you need to talk, I'm all ears."

_"Is something wrong?"_

_The small boy looked up to see an old man watching him, a gentle smile on his face. He shook his head, wiping the tears from his pale face with the thin fabroc of his jacket. The old man chuckled._

_"Talking will make it better, you know." He said. He extended a hand, and the boy took it witout thinking. "If you want, I'll listen."_

Hao smiled. "Let's talk at home."

xXxXxXx

"I see... I think."

Hao rolled his eyes. "See? I told you it was going to be confusing." Hiyoshi huffed.

"I get it." He said. "So, they're trying to get you back?"

"Seems like it." He traced the llines of the table out of boredom. "They can't touch me unless they get the first advisor's approval, and he won't do anything without mine."

"But why is that?" Hiyoshi asked. "Isn't he in a higher position than you? Why can't he just take you back?"

"Because he, unlike the second, respects my wishes. If I stay quiet, so will he. It's just how he is." He gave a frustrated sigh, falling back to lie on the floor. "It's infuriating! This is why I hate him, he's so annoying and doesn't seem to get the meaning of the term 'personal space' at all! What's worse is, no matter how much I tell him off for it, he just smiles and laughs it off!"

He knew it must seem funny to watch a demon ranting like a store worker with a clingy boss, but he couldn't help it. He finally, aftet hundreds of years, had someone to talk to that _wouldn't_ laugh at him, and it all just came out at once.

"So, what you're saying is, it's like me and Atobe?"

"Exactly." He said, sitting up and pointing at the boy. "Only in you're case, you two need to be locked in a closet to vent all that UST." He laughed at how red his host's face got at the comment, until a pillow met his face.

"Shut up!"

_"Boy, is there anyone you love?"_

_The boy looked away from the papers on the table to the old man. He ley in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. The boy, now a bit older than when he found him, was confused._

_"Love?" He didn't know what it meant, he'd never heard it before, nor was it in any of the books he was given._

_"It means to care deeply about someone, so much that you don't want them to leave you're side." The man said, coughing. He thought._

_"I love old man I guess." He said, and he was answered with a chuckle._

_"That's a different kind of love." At they boy's confused expression, he sighed. "The way you love me is a family kind of love. I raised you, so we're family."_

_Family. He knew that word, he'd seen it many times before. but what did he mean?_

_"I suppose it's too soon for you to decide, there's no one _to _love but me." He coughed more, a hand over his mouth. "You'll learn soon though, I promise."_

xXxXxXx

"I see, so he refuses to send for help?"

Húlí bowed her head. Why did Yán luó have to be so stubborn? She knew he hated the council, but was being sealed within the body of a middle-school boy better than this life?

"I'm sorry Shīzi, but he didn't want to listen. It seems he still holds a grudge against us for..."

Shīzi held up a hand, silencing her explanation. "I understand." He said. "He has every right to, he's not the one at fault here."

The fox demon nodded, turning around end exiting the large room. Shīzi sighed, running a clawed hand through his red hair. He looked at his hands and chuckled. How was Yán luó able to take human form so perfectly? He still didn't know.

_I suppose it's one other thing to admire about him,_ He thought with a chuckle. _He won't even let me call him his name..._

He glanced at his arm, tracing his fingers over the thin scars left behind from when they had first met - first fought- scars that refused to heal.

_"Get away!"_

_The boy was anything but big, but he had to recognize the amount of power held within such a small body._

_"You know as well as I do that this is something you can't help." He tried to step forward again, but reeled back when he felt a sharp pain from both his arms. He looked down, seeing the flesh torn open in three different sections. He looked back to the white-haired boy, blood dripping from the claws he kept hidden so long. His expression, however, showed he was less than pleased. He stared down at his hands in horror, shaking. It seemed like he'd never used them like that before._

_"I..."_

_"Thought so." Shīzi said, snapping the boy's attention back to him. "You're the once we're here for, not the old man." At this, the boy seemed even more one guard, his fear forgotten. "Either way, he needs to go."_

_"No!"_

_They were blown back by a sudden rush of cold air, far too powerful for any normal demon._

_"It's ice, huh?" He said, standing up. "Yup, he's the one."_

_"Boss, what do we do?" A tall, lanky man said beside him. He had a large grin on his face, as if he were waiting for the orders to kill._

_"You and Qín liú take care of the old man inside. This one," He looked back at the boy, who was now ready for a fight. "I'll keep him down."_

_The two addressed nodded, taking their original forms and running off. He looked back at the boy, who watched the snake and bird run off. Not the best idea, as he was soon tackled to the ground and it turned into a struggle. Moments later he froze, as sound from inside the house caused him to go pale. His face went from shocked to deadpan, as if some kind of bond had been broken. Shīzi stood up, watching as the other followed. He held out his hand._

_"You're coming with us."_

Ah, right, another reason to be hated. The only reason they went looking for him that day was because they heard there was 'a snow demon with amazing power living with a human'.

xXxXxXx

Ok so now we got to see bits os Hao's past of before he joined the court, but it took forever cuz I started reading manga. Who else here just loves present-day Byakuran? Anyways, I plan on doing those two new KHR fics right after I finish this, and somone please remind me becuause I'm sure I'll forget. Next chapter we'll return to the main plot, since I pushed a bunch of stuff back for this chapter. All names will now be in simplified, since I can't do traditional.

Names translations:

- Wūyā (乌鸦) - crow

- Qín liú (禽流) - bird

- Shīzi (狮子) - lion

- Gǒu (狗) - dog

- Shé (蛇) - snake

- Tùzǐ (兔子) - bunny

- Húlí (狐狸) - fox

- Yán luó (阎罗) - mountain(I think, I can't remember)

Okay I just thought of a new one-shot that I may or may not write today and blah blah blah I'm sleepy so I'll end it here.


	6. Chapter 6 Decisions

A/N: So since I still feel like typing, I decided to type out this chapter and cut my relaxation time in half. And by that I mean stop watching KHR and actually get some work done. In truth I should probably be studying for my geometry test tomorrow, but hell, I'll get a good grade either way, so it's all good.

This chapter brings us back to the main plot of our story, which was pushed back in favor of Hao's background story. I've also decided this is going to take place before they found out they would be taking part in the nationals.

**Unseal chapter 6: Decisions**

Class was boring. That was Hiyoshi's first thought for the day when he walked into English and fell asleep halfway through. He didn't have to worry, he knew Atobe would tutor him on anything he missed if he asked, anyway.

Hao stood next to him, the small barrier keeping any lingering spirits that resided in the school away from them. They had far too many close calls with the one's that managed to find them, and Hao was right, him being outside _was_ attracting unwanted attention. And the demon refused to let him wear any charms or wards, simply because they made him sick.

xXxXxXx

Practice, on the other hand, was anything but dull. Atobe had decided it was time for them to start training harder, so that a repeat of the Kanto tournament would never happen again.

Currently he was playing doubles with Gakuto while Oshitari practiced singles with Jirou. They were against Choutarou and Shishido, who were practicing their new formation. They were doing good so far. That is, until he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

Gakuto dropped his racket and rushed to his side, where he had crumpled to the ground in pain. He felt a hand on his back and heard more footsteps coming their way, but his vision was too blurred to make out who it was.

"Oi, Hiyoshi, are you okay?" Oh, that was Gakuto...

"Wakashi! What's wrong?" Choutarou...

_I don't know..._ He wanted to say it so badly, but the pain just kept increasing. He heard a grunt beside him and just barely made out the blurry figure of Hao, face twisted in pain, yet standing. _What's going on?_

_"I told you it was becoming dangerous." He heard the enigmatic figure say. "The strain is too much for your body... Hey, stay awake."_

That was the last thing he heard before everything went black.

xXxXxXx

Upon opening his eyes, he was greeted with the bright lights of the school infirmary. He liad there for a while to let his eyes adjust to the light, before sitting up. At least, he would have, if someone - rather heavy - wasn't asleep on his stomach. He lifted himself up on his elbows and looked down to see a familiar head of silver hair. Atobe had fallen asleep on him. He stared for a while before rolling his eyes. He poked his captain in the head multiple times before simply pushing him off.

"Wake up." he said blandly. He heard a groan and a curse before he was met with tired blue eyes.

"Is that how you treat someone that watched over you in your sleep?" Atobe asked, climbing back onto his chair.

"There were so many things wrong with that sentence that I don't even know where to start." He answered, receiving a laugh from the older boy.

"Anyway, what happened? " He asked. "You suddenly collapsed on the court and I had to carry you here after I lost at drawing strings." He was answered with a snort and a rather amused expression.

"I see you still have no luck in those types of things. Now is there a reason you decided I'd make a good pillow?"

"I was tired, you were here, mystery solved."

"Or not."

Atobe chuckled. He missed having these conversations with the younger boy. Recently he seemed to have distanced himself from the whole team. "So what happened out there?"

Hiyoshi hummed, lying back on the bed. Hyotei had rather soft infirmary beds. "I don't know, my chest just started hurting a lot." _and the demon inside me said it's your fault_.

"I... see." There was a long silence as Hiyoshi sat there playing with the blankets, and Atobe stared out the window. He hadn't even noticed they were at the bed farthest from the door. A sudden thought came to mind.

"Hiyoshi, there's something I've been wanting to try." He said, and the younger boy looked at him. "Mind helping me out?"

xXxXxXx

The silence was, in his opinion, unbearable. After that talk, Atobe had simply offered to take him home, since practice was over. Truthfully, he hadn't felt this scared since the time he sewd a kitty hood onto Akaya's jersey. The other boy wasn't too happy afterwards, but that was another story(literally). They walked in silence to the school gates, where Atobe's car was waiting. He wasn't sure what the feeling was, just the feeling of whenever...

"Heeeey, Hiyoshi-kun!" Said boy visibly flinched, and Atobe raised an eyebrow.

"It's that cop." He said, eyes following the black-uniformed man. "You know him?"

He could hear the annoyance in the older boy's voice, and he shook his head. They stopped as the man approached them.

"Oh? Atobe-kun, right?" He asked with a smile. "I just had a few questions for... Are you okay?"

Atobe looked at Hiyoshi, whose face was extremely pale, his breathing rough. Atobe quickly grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the car.

"I'm sorry, but he's not feeling well. Excuse us." He said before he reached the car, yanking the door open and pushed the younger boy in. He followed, after one last look at the man behind them, who waved good-bye.

Once he had told the driver the address, he turned to look at his younger teammate, who was gripping his chest as if he was trying to breathe. _Which he probably is..._

"Are you okay?" He asked, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead. Hiyoshi pushed it away and nodded.

"Just... take me home."

xXxXxXx

"It's getting worse."

Hiyoshi groaned from under the blankets he piled on top of himself. Hao took that as a 'as if I didn't already know' and sighed. He closed his eyes, deep in thought.

"That cop..." Hiyoshi muttered, peeking out from the blankets and looked at the demon. Hao nodded, opening his eyes.

"He has to go."

xXxXxXx

"There have been an unusual amount of deaths in the Kanto region, more specifically, Tokyo. In Japan." Húlí said, reading off the long report one of the underlings handed to her. She looked up, watching her master. He sighed.

"Yán luó's doing?" Shīzi asked, and she looked down.

"I don't know. But in his current state, it's possible." Húlí said, "He was rather unstable when he left, it's possible his condition has worsened upon being sealed. The human didn't seem very powerful either, as if it was all new to him."

"I see..." He thought for a while. "No point in forcing him back, it'll just make things worse. Maybe we can bait him...?" He shook his head. "No, there's nothing he likes enough for us to use."

"Sir, if I may? I think I might have an idea..."

xXxXxXx

I decided last minute to do that piece at the end, since I still wanted to write and I would have forgotten it. I actually editted this 4 times before I thought "You know what? I don't care anymore." It was actually a lot more dramatic in the middle, and there was a flashback, but I decided to save that for one of the later chapters and deleted most of the drama(read: copy and pasted it on a separate document for later use) This would have been a lot longer, but yeah. I'm really gonna try to go through with starting that KHR fic after I finish this.

Okay, well, that's all I have to say.


	7. Chapter 7 Happy day

A/N: I should really stop writing these so late at night. But then again, all my reasoning wouldn't make any sense if I did. Not like I sleep anyways, what with all this geometry homework I have. I swear, the subject is getting harder and harder. I'm pretty sure I failed that last test, if the red marks on my paper were anything to go by, but then again, I gave up halfway. Sadly, I need to retake it next Tuesday. FML.

Anyways, this chapter will be a bit more gruesome and a few flashbacks will be present, mostly for that one murder I wasn't able to put in. Yes, for once I am killing off my OC. No, those times in my Pokemon fic don't count, that's a totally different story. Quite literally. And I know everyone probably already knows who the murderer is, but I had to reveal it somewhere in the fic. Don't blame me if it bores you to tears, I had to do it sometime.

**Unseal chapter 7: Happy day**

Minamoto Keiji walked through the school gates, a long sigh escaping his lips. He knew having suspicions about a middle schooler were wrong, but something was wrong. Hiyoshi just had this... air about him, the kind that meant you were hiding something. He knew there was something off about the boy, he just didn't know _what_.

xXxXxXx

Hiyoshi was not at all impressed. They were at practice again, despite it being a Sunday, and he could have sworn Atobe was just trying to show off to him again. Although this moment seemed to be a bit different, he knew that face-plant into the hard, concrete court was _not_ on purpose and he was definitely _not_ okay. If that bloody nose was anything to go by, anyway.

"I still say that was the stupidest thing I've ever seen in my life, and I have a cousin who thinks peanut butter can substitute as toothpaste." He said dully, watching as Atobe wiped the blood from his face with a towel. He rolled his eyes at the attempted glare.

"Be quiet, you know nothing about grace and-"

"I know that that much blood loss from such a small part of the body is anything but healthy." He cut his capatain off. Atobe was about to say something, but he was interupted when they heard a call from the gates. They both looked up to see-

"That cop again." Atobe frowned. He looked at Hiyoshi, who was watching the man with mild interest. "Are you sure you don't know him? He seems awfully interested in you."

"Buchou, I assure you, the only time I've ever had to go to the police station was when I got lost at the amusement park and my parents reported me a missing child." He said with a completely straight face, despite the look of horror on his captain's. "Other than that, I've never once been there. Besides, I've never seen this man before that time you thought it necessary to dump nearly two gallons of water on me in the middle of January." Atobe frowned.

"You were just looking for a time to bring that up, weren't you?" He said, and rolled his eyes when Hiyoshi flashed him a grin and a thumbs-up. He then turned to see the man making his way down the stairs hurriedly. "So, wanna make bets on how far he'll make it before tumbling down the rest of the way?"

"1000 yen says he makes it down five more steps." Hiyoshi said, then grinned when the man immediately fell over on his fifth step. Atobe frowned.

"I don't know how, but you cheated."

"Yeah, but now you owe me." He said.

xXxXxXx

"Your still clinging to the belief that I somehow have something to do with this chain of murders?"

Keiji rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit embarassed. It _was_ a bit strange, he just didn't know what kept pulling him to the boy.

"I'm sorry, I really don't know what I'm thinking, but there's just something about you that makes me a bit... suspicious. I'm sorry if I'm offending you in any way." He said shyly. Why did he feel so pressured? Around a kid? Hiyoshi shook his head.

"It's fine." He said, glancing shortly to his left, managing to catch a glimpse of Hao's expression. He was scowling, eyes narrowed. "Is there anything else you need?"_ Cuz tonights your last night..._

"No, no it's fine." He said, then smiled. "I'm sorry if I've caused you any trouble, it won't happen again." With that, he turned to walk out the gates.

He had to supress a shiver, as he turned to see Hiyoshi still watching him, an unreadable expression on his face. He scratched his chin. "I think I may have just made the biggest mistake in my life..."

xXxXxXx

_THe old man sighed, leaning back in his chair. This starnge string of murders was putting all his employees on edge, and it was doing nothing to inprove sales. If anything, these evenst had made things worse._

_"I wish this would all just end soon..." He sighed._

_"It will." A voice said, causing him to open his eyes, which had slid shut. "For you at least."_

_There, right in front of him, was a person. And, judging b the height and stature, a teenager. He was clad in a black hoodie which covered his face and black slacks, hand axe held in his left hand. The man chuckled._

_"I suppose, as you young ones say, that sounded much cooler in you're head?" He said, remember how many times he had heard his grandchildren say it. The boy(at least, he thought it was, he couldn't tell by the tone of his voice) tilted his head, and the man could almost see the thoughtful look on his face. He chuckled._

_"Your not bad, for an old man." He(?) said, swinging his arms back and forth. Well, that's the first time someone's done that with an axe in their hand._

_"Too bad you have to kill me?" He asked, almost comepletely sure of his interntions. The boy seemed taken back, before he laughed._

_"I see you thought this through." He said. "No one's in the building, and you shut down all the cameras, I suspect."_

_"Yup, took a lot of effort too, so I'm hoping to get this over with." He saw a grin on the boy's face, which was slightly revealed. "I do hope you don't run away like the last one, it was a huge pain gettin home when she ran all the way to the other side of the city."_

_A sigh. "I suppose I asked for this, although I'm sure it would have happened soon anyway." He said regretfully. "If my time has come, then there's no reason for me to delay any longer."_

_He looked up at the boy, who was now directly in front of his desk, all traces of that wide grin gone._

_"I see." The black-clad teen said. "So your fine with this? Not gonna call security and make things difficult? Darn, and here I was hoping for some fun." The tone was a teasing, almost as if he himself was delaying it. "Might as well get this over with then." He raised the hand axe, the blunt end facing down. The old man held up a hand, and he paused._

_"Before you swing down that axe, I have one last request." He said, and he watched as the weapon was lowered. "I'd at least like to see the face of my killer."_

_The boy seemedt o be thinking it over, grip tightening on the wooden handle. He sighed, raising his right hand and pulling back the hood. The man's eyes widened when he was greeted with ptich black eyes and red pupils. And a face he was quite familiar with._

_"I see, it's you..." He said softly, then chuckled. "I'm sure you have your reasons, so-"_

_"Miasma." The boy said, catching his attention. "People like you release so much of it that it makes me sick." His eyes widened slightly, before softening._

_"I understand," He closed his eyes. "Then do as you please, I have no right to stop you."_

_Right before the axe was swung down, he heard one sentence that made him smile, even in his last moments._

_"You were a good man, Matsuda Daichi-san, I wish there was another way."_

xXxXxXx

"So we move tonight?"

Hao nodded, gripping his knees. He inwardly sighed, he didn't expect them to have to act so soon, but it was becoming unbearable. The air was becoming thicker and thicker, and he had only himself to blame for it affecting Hiyoshi. Miasma, or "Bad air" as they called it, was exteremly harmful for demons and spirits, especially his kind. It was one of the reasons he was so unstable. He had to get rid of the biggest causes of it, and since he wasn't allowed to touch the boy's friends, he just had to deal with the others...

"What time?" The sudden question snapped him out of the slight trance he had been in. He shook his head, taking a deep breath.

"Midnight. I places a special curse on him that'll allow us to find him right away, wherever he may be."

"And if it's a public area?" Hiyoshi asked, pulling on a black sweater and pants. The first time he had worn the outfit, Hao had openly laughed and called him an idiot, to which he replied with the fact that if hadn't worn it, it would be inpossible to move around at night.

"Then," He grinned. "We wait."

xXxXxXx

Keiji wiped hjis forehead, putting the last of the files in a neat pile. He inwardly cursed his luck, getting stuck with the ls tof the paperwork for the night. They were all on the case about the string of murders that have been happening in Tokyo, and he was almost glad he lived in Urawa, despite how close it was. As long as they didn't spre-

_CLICK_

He froze, dropping his pen and wondered just what in the world his co-workers could be doing to allow _that_ person in.

"If your wondering about the others, they've all been drugged and are sleeping peacefully in the lobby." A light voice said. He slowly turned around, only to come face-to-face with the one person he suspected from the beginning.

"I knew, I just knew there was something about you, Hiyoshi-kun." He said with a small grin. "I suppose that's why you've come to get rid of me?"

"I don't know if I should laugh at how far off the mark you are, or cry for the entertainment I'm about to lose." He said, surprising the man in front of him. "No, I'm not here because you suspected me, I'm here because you've been spewing miasma around this child's school and it's sickening."

"Miasma?" Keiji was, to be honest, comepletely confused. He realized, a moment too late, he wasn't talking to who he thought he was. "Your not Hiyoshi-kun, are you?" A grin.

"Oh, so you've realized? A bit too late on your part, unfrotunately. To answer your question, no, I'm not. Or rather, not completely." The air seemed to get thicker every second, and before he could react, a thin layer of mist surrounded the boy. It took a moment to dissolve completely, but he was greeted with the sight of another boy with short white hair and black eyes with red pupils. "I just happen to be inside him is all. My name is Hao."

"Hao-kun then." Keiji said, ever present smile on his face. Hao frowned.

"You should feel lucky human, I'm using quite a bit of energy to create this illusion, and my power isn't what it used to be." He said, still frowning. "Your the only one who's seen my true form."

Keiji's eyes traveled down, widening at the sight of the hand axe in the boy's hand. He felt himself begin to sweat a bit. "So that's what you've been using? Now I see how you were able to bash someone's skull in _and_ slice them open." Hao chuckled.

"Messy, that one. A real shame too, the man could have been fun to talk to, if it's weren't for the miasma pouring off him." He scowled. "I almost regret killing him."

Keiji chuckled, leaning back on his desk. He slowly reached for the gun strapped under it...

Before the table was blown to bits.

He stared, wide-eyed, at the spot where his desk now lay in pieces. What the hell?

"Do you honestly think I couldn't see what you were doing?" He turned back, only to find Hao before him, only mere inches away. "Only an idiot would fall for that."

He had only that warning before small yet strong hands wrapped around his neck, strangling him. He grabbed the offending arms, attempting to pull them away, but the small boy was stronger than he looked. A _lot_ stronger.

"I don't want you making any noises for what I'm about to do, it'll attract too much attention, and you may just get away alive." He grinned widely. "We can't have that, now can we?"

His grip tightened at the end of his sentence, effectively crushing the man's windpipe. "I could just choke you and kill you right then, but after all the trouble you've caused us, I think I'll be creative today."He lifted his foot, stomping on his with a sickening _crack_ before he released his grip, watching as the man fell to the ground, grasping his throat. "It's no use, you won't be able to talk anymore."

Hao walked over the one of the desks, picking up the bag he had dropped moments before his attack. He looked around the room, smiling when he spotted his target. A paper shredder. He walked over, making sure to pass Keiji on the way. He lifted the electronic device, holding it up for the cop to see.

"You know what this is right?" He asked sweetly. Keiji watched him, confused, when Hao slid a dagger out of his shirt sleeve. "I've always had a thing for blades, but I never found out how I decided on an axe as my main weapon in the council." He mumbled, twisting the small blade around, flipping it. "Oh well, more fun this way."

He walked over to where Keiji sat crouched over a chair, attempting to stand up. Hao glared at him, grabbing him by his hair and lifting him up so he was bent over the next desk. He walked around it, placing the paper shredder on the other side. He placed the dagger next to it, walking back to the desk that had his bag and axe. He lifted the wooden handle, looking the blade over for any stains. He walked back.

He stopped in front of the falled cop again, turning the axe over a few times before smashing the flat side into the man's skull knocking him to the ground. He huffed.

"Well, I guess there was no point to putting you up here if you were just going to fall again." He said, dropping the axe and placing the man back in his earlier position. "Now, how to do this..." He clapped his hands together. "Well, seeing as your jaw is now broken, I guess I'll start with cutting out your tounge."

He picked up the dagger lying on it's side, flipping it over a few times before grabbing Keiji by the jaw. "If you relax, this won't hurt a bit." He said, forcing his mouth open. "It could hurt a lot though."

Those were the last words he heard before he felt the cold steel of the blade dig into his tongue. He tried tp scream, but with how the demon handled his throat, it was impossible.

His eyes were closed, and though it annoyed Hao, he was fine with it. He turned to the paper shredder, wondering if what was in his hand would fit and _not_ break it. If it broke, that would just make things less fun.

"Hey." He said, and Keiji opened his eyes, only for the to widen when he saw what Hao was holding over the shredder. He watched as the boy let it drop from his hand, the sickening squishing sounds it made when it was turned on made his stomach flip over. Hao turned back to him, a small smile on his face, eyes faded. He brought his hand under the man's chin, tilting his face up to look at him.

"Next is your eyes."

xXxXxXx

Hiyoshi sighed, the hot water running over his sore body allowing his muscles to relax. He didn't know that Hao's illusions could put so much strain on his body. It wasn't even his power! He still remembered how, the moment they arrived back home, Hao had immediately fallen asleep. It seemed the event put him out for a while.

He grabbed the bottle of liquid soap, pouring it on his hands and rubbing furiously at his arms, where most of the blood had splashed back. Was it really necessary to put the guy's fingers in too, along with his eyes? The thought sickened him, but he knew better than to judge. He didn't know what it was, but he knew there was something _very_ wrong with Hao. It was like he was becoming a different person every night they went out. Perhaps it was just a demon thing, but he could feel it. The Hao he knew wouldn't willingly kill people. After all, it only started a few months ago, and whatever it was that was wrong with Hao was getting worse.

Maybe he could talk to Hao about taking down that barrier, then maybe he'd be able to ask someone about it.

xXxXxXx

"Another death?"

Húlí hung her head, not wanting to face her master. She heard Shīzi sigh, before continuing the report. "And this time, it's been confirmed." Shīzi raised an eyebrow.

"What has?" He asked slowly. Húlí didn't look up.

"It's been confirmed that Yán luó is responsible for more than half the deaths in the past five months." She said in a shaky voice. She didn't need to look up to see his expression.

"I didn't think it would happen so soon..." He said to himself. The two demons both looked up when they heard laugher from the doorway.

"See? Didn't I tell you the runt would snap?" A man wearing all green said, a wild grin on his face.

"_Shé_." Shīzi started. "I don't think-"

"Why don't you just kill him already?" The snake said in a serious tone, watching his boss. The lion stayed silent. "If you won't do it, then I will. Just give me the order and the kid'll be gone in less than a secon-"

"No." Shīzi said, frowning. "I've told you time after time that I don't want him killed."

Shé scowled. "He hates you."

"And he has every right to, but that doesn't change the fact that I want him here."

xXxXxXx

A/N: DON'T HATE THE POOR BOY IT'S NOT HIS FAULT.

No seriously don't. Cuz like, he's gonna become pretty awesome once they get him under control. Many things will be revealed later on as to why he did what he did, but for now, please live with what you know. I actually cut that scene with Hao and Keiji short cuz i just couldn't handle it. My sister thought up the entire scene for me when I asked her "what's the most gruesome way you can think of to kill someone." and she gave me that. Actually, she also told me to put happy sounding title names for chapter like this. Seeing as there's only one more somewhat like it, yeah.

Okay, so since I really need to use the bathroom, Imma end this note here. Night.


	8. Chapter 8 Awakening

A/N: So I decided right before starting the new episode of ShinTeni that I would write this while I wait for my movie to load. Since the next extra chapter for _**On the Other Side**_ is taking it's time to write itself, I thought 'hey why not update Unseal?'

**Unseal chapter 8: Awakening**

"Pudding~ Pudding~"

"Hao, shut up and get it yourself."

Hao pouted, pausing in his fourth loop. He'd been circling Hiyoshi for the past ten minutes, trying to get the boy to tear himself away from that history textbook and get into the kitchen. _Trying_ being the keyword. So far, he hadn't been sucessful.

"You know you're mom hates it when I take things from the fridge, she doesn't like things she can't see walking around the house."

"Well that's a lot of thisngs now isn't it?"

Hao continued his begging, he had taken to clinging to his arm and whining all the while, before the boy finally conceded.

"Fine, but this is the last one." He said, wondering just how many cups they had gone through in less than a day. Hiyoshi kept quiet on the short walk to the kitchen, thinking. Hao had been even more demanding the past few days since the last incedent, his mood seemingly worsening every day. It had been two weeks.

"_-and the culprit still seems to be on the lose. Since the murder of Minamoto Keiji has slowed down progress-_"

"Aniki, could you turn that off?" Hiyoshi said as he stepped into the kitchen, where Watari had been preparing to cook dinner.

"Why?" He asked, but a glance at his brother's nervous expression answered all. He grabbed the remote and flicked the tv off before he returned to his task. "What are you getting?"

"Pudding." He said simply. He heard a chuckle from the older male. As the whole family knew of Hao's presence, his mother had begun stocking up on the snack. He reached forward, yanking open the fridge. His eyes roamed over the contents, deciding whether or not to take something for himself. He picked up the cup of pudding and moved to close the door, when his body froze. A wave of pain hit him as he crumpled to the floor, clutching his chest and throat as his heart felt like it was being torn in two and his lungs began constricting. He glanced to his side slowly, his eyes meeting the image of Hao clutching his head in pain.

"Wakashi!" He heard his brother cry, running to his side. "Oi, what's wring? Is it an att-" He froze, watching the transparent figure next to his younger brother. "What's going on?"

"_I don't know..._" Hao said weakly, clutching his head, a pained cry escaping him. "_Take him somewhere secluded, now!_"

xXxXxXx

Choutarou hummed thoughtfully, math homework spread out in front of him. He hated the subject, he really did. It didn't help that his best friend was always so reluctant to lend him his notes, which were written in much better detail than his own. Speaing of Hiyoshi...

He glanced at his phone, lying by his computer. He hadn't gotten that promised call from his younger friend, who said he'd help him with his homework. Choutarou thought he probably forgot, but that was highly unlikely. He never forgot when it came to homework.

he quickly grabbed the blue devide, flipping it open and scrolling through his contacts. He pressed the call button and held it to his ear, hearing the ringing. After four rings the phone was picked up, but not by who he expected.

"_Choutarou? Yeah, this is a really bad time, and Wakashi's kinda-_" Watari? Wait, what was that?

"Wait, what's wrong with Wakashi?" He asked, panic lacing his voice. There was a pause on the other end, along with some shuffling, before he was answered.

"_Remember 'that'? You know, what happened when you guys were seven?_" He asked in a shaky voice. Choutarou nodded, then remembered they were on the phone. "Y-Yeah?"

"_Something's up. We don't know what, but we're working on it. Tell everyone tomorrow that he's got a bad cold or something and that he won't be in for about a week, depending on how this goes._"

He didn't get a chance to respond before there was a click, followed by beeping.

xXxXxXx

_This is bad, this is bad..._

He repeated that sentence in his head several times, unable to stop his hands from shaking. What was going on? Was hao-kun okay? Will it affect them in any way? Questions flew through his head as he walked through the school gates, not responding to any of his classmate's greetings.

"Oi, Choutarou!"

His head snapped up, and he hadn't even realized he had been slouching. He looked up to see the team walking up to him, a look of confusion on Shishido's face.

"dude, we called you,like, four times and you didn't respond." Shishido said, eyebrow raised. "What's up? You looked like you'd seen a ghost."

_Oh they have no idea_... Choutarou thought, quickly shaking his head. "It's nothing! I'm fine!" He said cheerfully. There must have been something off with his voic, as his teammates didn't seem very convinced, more like thay were suspecting something. If they were, they didn't say anything. They'd drop it for now.

"Where's Hiyoshi?" Atobe asked, looking over his shoulder, noticing how the tall boy flinched. "Don't you two usually walk to school together?"

"H-" Choutarou's throat caught. "He has a cold. His grandparents said it's really bad, so he'll be out for at least a week. No visitors either, they don't want it to spread."

This seemed to get a different reaction from them. "Is that why you looked so worried?" Gakuto asked, "Don't worry about it! A little colds not enough to kill Hiyo!"

At the 'k' word, Chotuarou had to supress a gasp. If he didn't know what was really going on, he'd have laughed it off like the others, but he did. He knew all too well...

_"Don't let him die! Please, don't let him die!" A young Choutarou wailed, clinging to Watari's jacket. The older boy took ahold of his shoulders._

_"He's not going to die, Ohtori!" He said, trying his best not to yell or let his voice crack. If he were anyone else, he'd probably be crying his eyes out just like the small boy in front of him. But he was himself, and he had to be there for his little brother's best friend. "Don't say that, okay? Wakashi's strong, it'll take a lot more tha this to get to him."_

_Choutarou sniffed, but nodded his head, wiping his eyes. "What's going to happen, Watari-nii?"_

_"I don't know..." He said, biting his thumb. "If they can't get it out of him, then I guess we'll just have to live with it."_

_"It won't hurt him though, right?" His voice bagan shaking again, the thought of something more happening to his friend bringing him closer and closer to his breaking point._

_"No, of course not." Watari said, trying to sound reassuring. "There's no way it'll hurt him. We'll make sure of it."_

That day was burned deep into his mind, the memory of finding his friend in that state after the kidnapping. It was something he hated to think about, something that would only appear in nightmares. And not to good ones.

"We'll go visit him once he gets a little better, okay?" Shishido said with a grin, causing the sinking feeling in his heart to become a fall into darkness.

_If_ he got better.

xXxXxXx

"Sir?"

Shīzi turned away from the window, facing the lower-ranking demon.

"You may go now, I've heard all I need to."

A nod, before it left the room, passing by Húlí on her way in.

"What was that about?" She asked, watching the other demon cross the hall.

"Something happened to Yán luó." He said. She turned to look at him, eyes wide.

"What did?" She was beginning to panic. If something was happening to one of their strongest...

"His sleeping power." He said. "It's awakening." Her eyes widened.

"But, if that happens in his state, he'll-"

"He'll break, yes." Shīzi seemed lsot in thought, staring at the wall. He close his eyes, sighing. "Tell everyone to prepare, we leave for Japan in a week."

xXxXxXx

I don't know how long I made this, since my wordpad sucks, but there you go. I wanted to save the rest of this for the next chapter, but I hope you liked a look into the past from Choutarou's POV. Watari too, kinda. Anyways, a few more chapters before we get to the post ending and the epic - or fail - battles it brings. Yes, there is technically a part two, which I don't wanna bother putting in a seperate story cuz it's pretty short.

So bye bye and see you next time.


	9. Chapter 9 The turning point

A/N: So after many failed attempts at writing this chapter and much procrastination, I've finally decided "you know, 4:00 sounds like a _wonderful_ time to write a chapter" and like they always say, third time's the charm! ... In most cases. Unfortunately, this is me we're talking about, and since fanfiction didn't let me go to doc manager when I was _clearly_ logged in, I'd say this came faster than it should have.

We're almost done with the main story now. Just (hopefully) four more after this and we'll be at the post-ending, which I've been dying to write. We get more from Choutarou's POV here. We also get to see what our favorite anti-hero has been doin- wait, wrong chapter.

**Unseal chapter 9: The turning point**

Red eyes scanned the city below, His target couldn't be far, the traces of "bad air"[1] still fresh. His body went rigid, his nerves on fire. _There_.

He leaped off the low roof, dashing down the alley and pressing his body against the wall. After waiting for his target the stagger drunkenly passed the alley, he leapt.

xXxXxXx

Choutarou sighed, paacing around outside the club room. His sempai had asked him time after time about Hiyoshi, especially Atobe and Shishido. They were obviously worried, and it stung to have to lie to them like this, but he did what he could.

He couldn't handle meetings at his friend's house, it was far to... _depressing_. Knowing what was going on, listening to everyone and what they had to say, but not being able to say anything himself. Not being able to _do_ anything else. It hurt to know that he was so close but couldn't help in any way. Which was why he was doing this, distracting the team. It was all he _could_ do. At least, that's what _'they' _thought. He knew Hiyoshi's family knew better.

"Choutarou, are you okay?"

He jumped, the sudden voice snapping him back to reality. He turned around to see Shishido, tennis bag slung over his shoulder. Gakuto and Jirou were peeking out from the doorway, watching the two carefully. Choutarou sighed.

"It's nothing sempai, I just-"

He was cut off by the sudden ringing of his cellphone. He quickly dismissed himself, saying it was an important call he was waiting for. He ran to the back of the clubhouse, unaware of the group following.

xXxXxXx

"He's _gone_!"

Choutarou stood there, mouth wide open in shock. The call was from Hiyoshi's father, who called to tell him that his son was gone - and they had no idea where he was.

"_He could be anywhere by now, but I doubt he's left the city. Wakashi's too attatched to you all now to go too far away." _The man on the other end said. "_Although, it could be that Hao took him far away for just that reason."_

"Because he doesn't want to make Wakashi sad by hurting us, or..."

"_Or you're attachment to him might affect his control. Remember, Wakashi can take control at any time. Whatever Hao's doing, he wants you all out of the way. And he wants full conrtol for as long as his body can handle it." _The very though of it made Choutarou shiver, he didn't want his best friend to get hurt. Or worse.

"Is there any way we can find him? Doesn't he have a tag somewhere on him?" He asked. Hiyoshi always had something on him so his family could find him easily.

"_W removed all the tags when we restrained him. He would have killed himself with all that weighing down on him, so we thought better safe than sorry." _A sigh. "_And look where that got us..."_ A pause. "_Choutarou-kun, could you..._"

"Oji-san, I'll find him, don't worry." Choutarou said. "Where ever he is, I can find him, you know that. After all, I doubt Hao-kun would break our bond for any reason. It's what's keeping them alive afterall."

xXxXxXx

Six pairs of eyes watched carefully from around the corner. It was impossible to tell who was on the phone, but by the sound of things, something happened to their future captain. Shishido narrowed his eyes upon seeing Choutarou biting his thumb, it was an unhealthy habit he shared with his best friend, something they only did under extreme pressure. At it was tough to pressure them.

"Yes.. okay, so tonight at nine... yes, don't worry, I'll keep my promise." He said a simple 'bye' before hanging up, sighing again and pocketing his phone. Shishido grabbed Gakuto and Jirou by the arms when they tried to back off. He needed all the help he could get it they wanted to hear it. Atobe stood his ground, arms crossed. Shishido nodded to him.

He was going to get his partner to talk, whether he wanted to or not.

xXxXxXx

"Alright, what's up?"

Imagine the tall second-year's surprise when, the moment he stepped around the corner, that was the first thing he heard. Right now he was being stared down by his sempai (and Kabaji, but he had the feeling the other boy didn't want to pry into his personal buisness) with rather hard looks.

"What's wrong with him." It was Atobe this time, and to that, he wasn't sure what to say.

Choutarou bit his lip, wondering whether he should break his promise to Hiyoshi's father to not tell anyone - especially the team - about what was wrong with his son. The group stood in silence for what seemed like forever, before Choutarou sighed again.

"In the clubroom, I can't say it out here."

xXxXxXx

"Why so heavy..."

Dragging an uncouncious body to a secluded area had been hard enough, but the fact that he had to stay out of sight, well, there was a limit to even his strength. He huffed, grabbing the man's collar and heaving with all his strength to at least get him inside the warehouse.

"Dammit..." He cursed, pulling the door shut behind him. He smirked.

"Now it begins..."

xXxXxXx

Choutarou shifted in his seat, not meeting the curious stares of his teammates.

"So..." Shishido said after a long silence. "Let me see if I heard this correctly: There's an evil spirit sealed inside Wakashi, and now it's gone crazy and has kidnapped him?"

"Sorta..." Choutarou swalloed. "He's not really _evil_, just a bit unstable, and we think something happened to make him go crazy. He's usually relatively mild, and just follows Wakashi around everyday. Sometimes he disappears, but he comes back." Atobe hummed.

"So, you don't believe me?" He asked. There was another long silence, and he was sure his team thought he was crazy.

"I believe you."

Seven pairs of eyes turned to look at Shishido, who scratched the back of his head.

"I mean, Choutarou doesn't lie, and I doubt you'd lie about Wakashi anyways. You didn't want to tell us, so I'm sure it must be true, if you were being so cautious."

Choutarou smiled softly, glad that one of his sempai believed him. Maybe now...

"I do too." Atobe said, to everyone's surprise. "It's just- I doubt it's a lie. Everytime I'm alone with Hiyoshi, it always feels like there's something watching me. I've always wondered if it was my imagination, but I guess..." Choutarou chuckled.

"Hao-kun has always been a bit precautious. He thinks you'll do something weird if he's not around." Atobe raised an eyebrow.

"Why-"

"I think that can wait until later, Atobe." Oshitari said. He sighed. "As for me, well, I don't know what to say. I don't think your lying, but I don't know if it's the truth. I won't doubt you though, there's deifinitely something wrong."

Gakuto and Jirou exchanged looks. "I... guess I believe you." Gakuto said, Jirou nodding along. "We'll believe you, because your our friend."

Choutarou smiled. They believed him! _Maybe, just maybe, they'll be able to..._

"So... what do we do now? We know, but can we do anything?" Oshitari voiced everyone's thoguhts. Choutarou stared at the floor. What _could_ they do?

"I don't think we can do anything." He mumbled. "We've been trying for years, but thibgs have only gotten worse..." Atobe looked at him.

"What do you mean 'gotten worse'?" He questioned. "Does it have to do with why he's been fainting?" Choutarou looked away.

"We've been... trying to separate them for years now. I think it only made his condition worse though, he wasn't this bad before, and we always fail." He took a deep breath. "Remember the string of murders that's been happening these past three months?"

"Yeah..." Shishido said. _I don't like where this is going,_ he thought. _Dammit, Choutarou, look at me! I can't tell what your thinking if you don't..._

"They're the results of... our failed attempts."

xXxXxXx

"But boss...!"

"No buts, Shé, we have to do this."

Said demon was seething. "Why go through so much trouble for one brat? He'll die soon anyway, why not just take him out and get it over with? Save ourselves the mourning and get on with our lives!"

Gǒu jumped up, fists clenched.

"We can't do that Shé Xiānshēng, we need him!" He barked, fangs beared. "Just because you don't-"

Shé glared at the dog, causing him to cower and sink back into his seat. Tùzǐ looked between the two, eyes wide and clutching the stiffed leopard in her arms. She opened her mouth to speak, but quickly copied Gǒu's previous actions. Shīzi looked at her.

"Do you have something to say?" He asked softly. She glanced at the snake, who was glaring at her, as if daring her to speak.

"_W-Wǒ xiǎng dà gēgē huíláile..._[2]" She said quickly, hiding when there was a vicious hiss from the front of the room.

Shé glared at the two younger demons, cursing the fact that he couldn't touch them without starting a fight with the birds.

"Boss, we can't take him back, he's-"

"Master!"

The doors to the meeting room flew open, a rather startled looking Húlí standing at the door.

"Master, Yán luó has...!" Shīzi stood up.

"Yes?"

"H-He's moved!"

xXxXxXx

So while this took forever to write, and I didn't get to post this up when I finished it cuz fanfiction was being a jerk, I guess it turned out fine.

[1] See chapter 7 flashback for short explanation, or look up 'miasma' on wiki.

[2] _Wǒ xiǎng dà gēgē huíláile... _- Roughly 'I want big brother back' Sorry, my Chinese is a bit rusty.

Next chapter will be relatively longer, since I wanted it to be the... climax I guess? Still, four more chapters for the main story, then we get to the last few.


	10. Chapter 10 Confrontation

A/N: Okay, enough procrastination even though you guys are probably used to it by now. I've been _trying_ to type up this chapter for the past two weeks, but alas, it finally got to me. But hey, maybe I'll finally finish it today? Probably not sinve this is a long chapter, but it's worth a shot. I'll be updating _**On the Other Side**_ soon too with a special notice on another fic that might have been mentioned before. Yup, I've finally decided on it.

Anyways, I'm gonna stop disguising Hao, since you guys already know whats going on and stuff, unless it's from the POV of someone he doesn't know. He won't be changing the appearance of their body anymore though. This chapter we learn a little bit more about the seal and the connection between all the people that were attacked.

**Unseal chapter 10: Confrontation**

THe sounds of hammer striking metal rang through the empty warehouse. The shadowy figure grunted, tugging one last time on the chains before a satisfied smirk filled his face.

"_This is a bit... new, isn't it?_" Hiyoshi asked in their shared mind. "_You must be having fun._"

"It's not my fault. If i don't do this, we'll be in a lot of pain." Hao huffed, running a funger over the edge of the hand-axe. It was a bit incinvenient that Hiyoshi's body was right handed, with him being left himself, but he could make it work. His aim would be a little off, but... "I doubt you'd want that, especially since I heard that Choutaoru's been covering for us an' all."

"_No, I wouldn't. Just please hurry up._"

xXxXxXx

"So how do we find them?"

Choutar bit his lip, fingers twitching. He wasn't sure exactly, but they had to try something.

"Well, there is a way, but..." He paused, watching his teammates reactions. Atobe nodded, a sign for him to move on. "I'm a bit reluctant to use it. It might have some... unwanted side-effects." He said.

" 'Side-effects'?" Shishido echoed. "What do you mean?" Choutarou sighed.

"Well, for one thing it might give us both major headaches, which I don't think will be good in this situation. Another thing that might happen is that it could backfire and I won't be able to move for about three weeks because of the stress it puts on the body." He averted his eyes. "I can put up with it, but if it fails and alerts Hao-kun of our attempts to find him, there's no telling what he'll do."

"So we could die." Oshitari said. Choutarou watched his fingers twitch.

"It's not likely. Hao-kun knows he can't touch you guys." He laughed. "If he did, Wakashi might just break."

"Break?" Gakuto asked.

"His soul." Choutarou said, placing a hand on his chest. "You guys are all really dear to him, despite him denying it quite often." He let his hand drop back down, and Atobe raised an eyebrow.

"You make it sound like he doesn't care about you." He said. Indeed, in the entire explanation, Choutarou had never once mentioned himself. Choutarou shook his head.

"While I'm sure Wakashi cares about me the same way he does for you guys, I'm a different case." He smiled sadly. "Hao-kun can't hurt me, because he might just kill both of them trying to."

xXxXxXx

A pair of eyes opened sleepily, trying to adjust to the darkness. The sounds of metal striking something solid could be heard, but he had no time to think about it before a pair of eyes met his.

"Oh, your awake now?" The boy in front of him asked. "You were sleeping for a while."

"Wh-where am I?" The man asked in a shaky voice. The boy hummed, turning around and picking up an item from the ground. The man's eyes widened. A hand-axe.

"Uh, you don't need to know." He smiled. "Just know that here, no one can here anything." He walked closer, face hidden by the shadows.

"What are you going to do with that?" He asked, eyeing the small axe warily. The boy chuckled.

"Well let's see; dark warehouse, myserious person, kidnapping, and and axe. What do _you_ think I'm going to do with it?" He asked sweetly. The man's eyes widened, shaking his head wildly. "Good-bye, Yamata-san."

xXxXxXx

Choutarou inhaled deeply, the fresh forest air clearing his mind. The team had stopped questioning him after the comment. He wrapped up the meeting stating that, if they were willing, they could meet up with him in an area of his choice and they could help him locate thei friend. He didn't add in that he was plannning on performing the ritual anyways, despite the after effects.

The sound of rustling bushes woke him from his slight trance, and he turned to see Shishido stumbling through the foliage.

"Hey." He waved, dropping a backpack on the ground by a tree. "Choutarou, I know you wanted to do this in a place away from Tokyo, but do you really think Wakashi will be so far away?"

Choutarou hummed, watching the clouds in the sky. He thought it over the night before, and he knew Hao had taken a liking to the forests around Hikawa. "Yes, Hao would have brought him to a place like this." Shishido dropped onto the ground, leaning against the tree.

"I'm not going to question your judgement, but I hope your right about this." Another voice said from the trees. Both boys looked to see Atobe walking up to them, his own bag slung over his shoulder. "How do you plan on searching this place?"

Choutarou stayed quiet. He didn't want to tell them that he planned on separate from the group halfway through the search to find their friend in his own way, he'd get too many protests. Atobe watched him, before sighing.

"I see, so that's how it is." Before he could ask his captain what he meant, they were interrupted by two voices arguing in the distance.

"I'm telling you, the meeting place is this way!"

"No Gakuto, I'm very sure it's this way. Ootori said to go east from the large tree by the lake."

"We did go east, and look where that got us!"

Choutaoru chuckled. True, the directions he gave were vague and he could hardly understand them himself, but he was glad some of the team had the sense to look at a map the night before. Unfortunately, it seemed neither Gakuto nor Oshitari had that idea cross their minds.

"Sempai, we're over here!" He called, and they waited a while before the two fell through the bushes.

"HA! See? I was right!" Gakuto cheered. His superiority was interrupted by rather loud snoring, and Atobe sighed.

"We picked up Jirou before we came here." He said, gesturing to the sleeping blonde lying over Kabaji's shoulder. "You can guess why."

"Cuz he'd fall asleep on the bus and miss his stop?" Oshitari said dully. Everyone turned to Choutarou, who stood in the center of the clearing.

"We'll split up into groups, it'll be easier and safer if we're in pairs of two." He said. "I'm going by myself though."

"Wait, what?" Shishido said, jumping to his feet. "Why aren't we going together?"

"I'm sorry, Shishido-sempai, but it'll be easier for me to search by myself." He said with a sad smile. "I know the area better, so I can get around by myself. Did everyone bring the supplies I listed?"

"Two small towels, bottle of water, flashlight, and our cell phones right?" Oshitari listed. "And a snack." Choutarou nodded, picking up his own bag and walking through the trees.

"We'll meet back here in three hours, so let's go."

xXxXxXx

A scream rang out through the dark building, the sound of bone crunching accompanied by metal meeting stone.

"Your loud." Hap said, frowning. "The others weren't nearly as difficult as you." He lifted the weapon above his head once more, despite the man shaking his head. "Now, if you keep doing that, I might just hit something." He swung the axe down, watching as it made contact with the man's left shoulder. "Shoot, I missed." He huffed. "You'll have to excuse my aim, this bodt isn't left-handed."

"Wh-Who are you?" The man said in short breaths. Hao crossed his arms, humming.

"I suppose you wouldn't remember me. After all, I'm just some kid that helped out a lost old man." He smirked at the look of realization that crossed the man's face.

"Y-You..."

"Yup." He said cheerfully. "Now, as I said before, bye-bye~" And the axe, aimed for the man's skull and held backwards, went down.

_Crack_

xXxXxXx

Choutarou looked around, clutching the stick in his hand. No one. Good. he bent down, trace a circle onto the ground. He tried to remember every symbol, every pattern there was to the spell. Once the circle was done, he pulled a slip of paper from his pocket along with a small brush. He began writing the characters of the spell onto it, before moving onto his hand. If he got this right, the others wouldn't have to go through the pain of having to confront Hao.

"What are you doing?"

Choutarou's head shot up, right when he was pressing the symbols on the paper and his hand together.

"J-Jirou-san? Aren't you supposed to be searching with Kabaji-kun?" He asked shakily. _No no no, I can't let them know. If I do, they'll only get hurt_.

"I saw you walking over here and followed you." Jirou said sleepily, rubbing his eyes. "Kabaji went to get Atobe and the others." His eyes moved to the ground. "What's that?"

Choutarou looked to the circle by his feet, then to Jirou, then back. "It's nothing, you should go back and search with the others." Jirou's eyes widened a little.

"Your doing that thing you told us about, aren't you?" He asked, his voice taking on a higher pitch. Choutarou nearly dropped the paper.

"N-No! why would I-"

"Choutarou!"

He turned around to see the rest of the team run through the bushes. Shishido stopped at the sight of the circle, giving him a look of disbelief.

"What do you think your doing?" Atobe asked, his voice low. Choutarou swallowed, crumpling the paper in his hands. There was no use for it anymore, now that they found him. "Didn't we tell you not to do it?" He sighed.

"I'm sorry, but this is all I can to with my abilities." Choutarou said, closing his eyes. "Right now I'm the only one that can find Wakashi." He said softly.

"What do you mean?" Oshitari said, stepping up. Choutarou looked at him.

"I mean, I already know where he is." At the look of shock on his teammates faces, he sighed. "I don't think I explained this in detail, but I'd know where he is in a second if I wanted to. After all, without our bond, he'd be dead." He chuckled. "Lately though, there's been some trouble and I can't get his exact location. The ritual was to make it easer." Atobe sighed.

"I'd ask you to explain more, but I'd rather find Hiyoshi as soon as possible first." He said. "You may have had your reasons for not telling us, not wanting to get us involved, but you forgot one important detail." Choutarou raised an eyebrow.

"And that would be?" Atobe smiled.

"Hiyoshi is our friend too, and like it or not, you can't get rid of us."

Choutarou looked at the smiles on all his teammates, before smiling himself.

"Of course, how could I forget." He shook his head, throwing the piece of paper aside. "Let's go get our teammate."

Shishido threw his arms into the air. "It's about time! Do you know how hard it is to search the entire forest?" Choutarou chuckled.

"I'm sorry, but we can go now." He said, heading towards the north. "It's this way."

xXxXxXx

"This ugly building is where he's hiding?"

Gakuto squeaked when Shishido dug his elbow into the red-head's side. The two glared at each other before looking back at the building.

It was an old, seemingly abandoned warehouse. The white paint was faded and peeling off, along with some holes in the roof. The windows were cracked, some broken completely. The door was slightly opened, just begging them to open it and walk in.

"So do we go in, or do we stare at it for another three days?" Shishido aked sarcastically. Choutarou slowly approached the door, touching the side. When nothing happened, he pushed it a little before it was completely open.

They were met with complete darkness, aside from the fading sunlight from behind. Choutarou held his breath. There, in the middle of the large room, was the vague outline of a figure. The group walked in slowly, jumping as the the heavy steel doors slammed shut behind them.

"Wakashi..." Choutarou said softly, but the figure didn't move. Shishido raised an eyebrow, shoulders tense.

"That can't be him." He said, earning strange looks from his companions. "Wakashi isn't left-handed."

"No," A voice, similar to their friend's but in a lighter tone. "But I am."

Atobe watched as his teammate turned slowly to look at them, before his eyes widened. Those eyes, usually dull grey in color as he remembered them, that glowed brightly in the dark, were-

"Red..." Gakuto said, shrinking behind Oshitari. Said boy was frozen in place, unable to move under the gaze of the boy's crimson eyes. Choutarou stepped forward.

"Hao-kun, it's good to see you again I suppose." He said. Shishido's eyes widened. How could he be so calm? "Mind telling me exactly what's going on here?" Hao hummed.

"I don't know really. I just got this sudden impulse to kill, ya know? Like I'd die if I didn't get someone real soon." While his vocabulary and tone of voice may have been different, Atobe couldn't help but see him as the younger teammate he had teased so much.

"Then why didn't you tell us? You don't like killing, do you?" Choutaoru asked, and Hao tilted his head.

"I don't like it."

"Theb come back." Choutarou said, stepping closer and holding a hand out. He cried out in pain and withdrew his hand, the sudden shockwave, surprising him. He watched the bright red liquid run down his hand. He looked up to see his friend's hand bleeding as well, and Hao frowning.

"No!" He yelled. "I'm not going back there! They're just going to do more of those painful rituals again!" Choutarou stood up.

"That's not true! They've learned their lesson, they're not going to hurt yo-"

"Liar!"

Another shockwave, and this time the taller boy had to grip his arm to keep the blood from flowing. He heard his friends call out to him, and he turned around.

"Stay back!" He called, turning back to the crying demon.

"Liar, liar, liar! You always say that! You always tell us it won't happen aagain! But you always lie!" He was screaming now, eyes wide with tears running down his face. Choutarou gasped. He heard two voices then. His eyes widened when he saw a faint outline appear at his friend's back. "You may say there's nothing wrong with me, but they all say the same things! Always telling me I don't belong, always saying I should just be killed, before I do any harm, but what have I done? I didn't do anything, yet they hurt me!"

There was a silence as the boy tried to catch his breath, wiping away the tears. he looked up, and much to everyone's surprise, his eyes were grey.

"They call me a monster, Choutarou, they always say it. Whenever you, aniki, mom or dad aren't around, they say horrible things. They say I belong in Hell."

Atobe clenched his fists. People were saying that about his favorite kohai? Why didn't he notice anything? Why didn't he say anything all those times he saw the boy crying.

"I don't belong there, I'm just causing problems for everyone. I don't want that."

Atobe snapped. Ignoring the calls from his teammates and Choutarou's pleas to stay back, he stomped forward until he was a foot away from the shorter boy.

"You say you don't want that," He started as calmly as he could. "But your causing problems right now." Hiyoshi's eyes widened.

"Atobe..." But he stopped, biting his lip. Atobe sighed.

"My god boy, do you know how worried we've been? Practice hasn't been the same, your parents are desperately trying to find you, and we've been questioning Ootori for days now about what's happened to you. You say you don't want to cause problems for anyone, but what do you think your doing right now? If you want to stop causing people trouble, then let them help you."

Grey eyes filled with tears, the small axe falling from his hands. Atobe sighed, who knew he could be such a crybaby? He patted the shorter boy's head, ruffling his hair.

"I'll tell you something right now," He said with a smile, "Your not someone who belongs in Hell, your someone who belongs here with people who care about and love you."

Eyes darkening once more, Atobe prepared himself to step back from whatever attack may come. But none did.

"Your not lying, are you?" Both voices asked, one eyes filled with doubt while the other with hope. Atobe sighed.

"No, I wouldn't have said those things if i didn't mean them." He watched as the dull grey he was so familiar with returned, along with more tears.

"I'm sorry..." Hiyoshi said, before his eyes closed and his body went limp. Atobe gasped and held his arms out, the unconcious boy falling into his chest. He nearly went into a panic, before his eyes locked onto red ones stading in front of him.

"_I don't know if this is a good idea, but I leave him to you then._" Hao said with a sigh. "_You better make him happy, or else your gonna lose an arm or two._" Atobe nodded.

"Hao-kun, don't scare him." Choutarou said, walking up to the boys and wrapping a towel around his friend's arm. "And please don't do that again, it really hurt." Hao glared at him.

"_You provoked me_." He looked at the group approaching them. "_You just gonna stare all day, or did your voice boxs break?_"

"So, your not gonna hurt us?" Shishido asked suspiciously. Hao scoffed.

"_As if I could, the kids our cold, I can't do anything with out his body_." He sighed. "_Can we go or something, thise place really doesn't sit well with me_." Gakuto raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you pick it?" He stepped a little closer to Oshitari when Hao looked at him.

"_Last minute choice, now let's go, before the body rots_." He said. Oshitari raised an eyebrow.

"What body-"

"_Okay people, let's get moving. It's kinda cold here and I'm pretty sure that amout of blood loss it _not_ healthy._"

xXxXxXx

"Ootori, can you tell Hiyoshi's parent's he'll be with me for a while?"

Choutaoru looked at hims with wide eyes.

"Eh? Why?" He asked. Atobe shifted the boy on his back, making sure to not move his arm too much.

"I said I'd help him didn't I?" He said, as if it was obvious. "I meant what I said. He wants reassurance, he'll get it. He's not leaving my side until we fix this."

Choutarou watched him carefully before sighing. "If it's what you want, buchou."

xXxXxXx

Atobe sighed, straightening out his back. His arms were sore after carrying his kohai all the way to his room. He looked over to the sleeping boy, crisp white bandages wrapped tightly around his arm. He sat down on the edge of the bed, running a hand through the short brown hair.

"Oi."

He jumped, pulling his hand back. He looked to his left, where Hao sat in an unoccupied chair.

"Either your not as smart as he says you are or you really like his face." He smirked. Atobe glared at him.

"I see your sarcastic, something Ootori left out when he told us about you. I never expected you to be so small though." The smirk turned into a frown.

"The only other person I know that has managed to comment on my height and live, Atobe, you are a lucky man." He said. "That is, until I get my own body back."

There was an awkward silence between the two. Or rather, awkward on Atobe's side. What were you supposed to say to a demon who managed to kill off so many people?

"I don't really want to ask, but why exactly did you kill those people?" Hao gave him a look.

"If you don't want to ask, then don't..." He mumbled. "I didn't really want to, but it's just..."

_Onii-chan, can you help me get my ball?_

"All of them were poison to me."

"Poison?"

"Yes."

_Excuse me, can you tell me which ticket to buy to get to Aomori?_

"They emmited a type of air that's poisonous for my type. It didn't matter who they were. If they had it, they died.

_I'm sorry to ask, but I'm a bit lost. Which way it the police station?_

Atobe paused. "I see. So you had no choice then." Hao shook his head.

"It would have been fine if it wasn't so much, but in this case, there really was not other option. it's worse since I'm sealed."

There was another silence before Hao looked him in the eyes, red meeting blue.

"Can you really unseal me?"

Atobe blinked, a bit taken back by the comment. He reached forward, placing a hand on the head of white hair.

"I don't make promises I can't keep."

xXxXxXx

A/N: Oh god finally this chapter is done. Jus took me about 5 hours to type. My hands hurt. I know it might have been a bit OOC in the middle, but this is tough to write. I had to go with the atmosphere. That being said, we're gonna see a lot more of crybaby!Hiyoshi in the next chapter.

Hey look, the main plot is almost done! Just three more chapters, which are pretty short, and we get to move onto the fun part. As I said in the first note, the next extra chapter of _**On the Other Side**_ will have a special announcement about an upcoming fic. As such, I will not add it to my future fics list yet.

Tell me what you thought about this chapter and if you think it was a bit too anticlimatic, since I forgot the original script and kinda liked this one. I might change it if I remember.


	11. Chapter 11 Promises

A/N: I'm sure that by now everyone will believe me when i say i only decided to update cuz i was bored. Seriously, it's a sad day when I have nothing to do. Anyways, it's halfway through spring break, and I have got to stop listening to music when I go to sleep.

So here's the first of two filler chapters, then the end of the first arc. And by that, we move on to part 2 of _**Unseal**_. Yes, there's still a part 2. After this fic though, I'm gonna start my next one right away if I can.

**Unseal chapter 11: Promises are meant to be broken**

Atobe groaned, running a hand through his short, silver hair. It was at least three in the morning and he wasn't through even half the books he borrowed from the library.

It had been three days since their confrontation with Hao, three days since Hiyoshi had last woken up. Choutarou said it was possible that he and Hao were conversing in his mind. Other than that, the demon seemed to prefer staring out the window when he thought he was alone. Atobe , at times that he would peek in to check on the boy, would even see him sitting up and staring out the window, much like his counterpart. He never made a sound, nor any movements, which Choutarou said was probably just his body moving on instinct.

That did nothing to help his restless mind, and the fact that he could do nothing but figure out how to break the seal was what hit him the most. Despite all his power, despite having done things a normal person couldn't have done, just the words 'you can't do it' wounded him. His pride, and his heart.

Three days ago, Atobe Keigo could have said, without a doubt, that demons and ghosts and whatever else were in those picture books they sold at children's stores, didn't exist. Three days, ago, he would have believed his teammate was home sick with a cold, and would be back within a week.

Three days ago he experianced just what it felt like to nearly lose someone to a demon, and how heartbreaking it could be to feel useless.

He sighed, setting his pen down and closing the large book. He had no idea Hiyoshi's interests had so much to tell about creatures he used to think never existed. Was Hiyoshi like this when he first met Hao? He paused in reaching for the next book. A thought hit him, hit him like a ton of bricks falling from a ten-story building.

Was this where Hiyoshi's strange obsession with the occult came from?

He thought it over. All those years that he and the team had made fun of the boy's odd interests, told him things such as UFO's, fairies, and ghost didn't exist. What else could he have said, knowing there was something he probably never thought would be real seven years earlier, living inside of him? He remembered the books he used to see the younger boy reading, stuff about demons and ghost and such.

All this time, could he have been trying to find a way to break the seal himself?

A wave of guilt washed over the silver-haired captain, realizing all this time that they had been mocking something that was indeed real. Of course Hiyoshi believed in all that stuff. With something like Hao living inside him, what could he _not_ believe? He couldn't believe something didn't exist unless he was given proof. No one could.

He sighed again, stretching his arms over his head. There was a shuffling sound from the other side of the room, but he set it aside as the wind. That was, until someone walked over and picked up one of the books, opening it to a bookmarked page. A scoff.

"As if any of this would be useful."

He turned his head slowly to face the figure, eye widening.

"Hiyo-" He stopped when the other looked at him, eyes narrowed. Red eyes. "Hao."

"What, you expected him to wake up?" The demon said, shutting the book as dropping it onto the desk. "You suck at researching, you know that? What made you think this stuff would be useful?" He rolled his eyes.

"It's not exactly a hobby to be looking up ways to break a seal on something I didn't think existed three days ago." He said. He jumped when he felt a weight on his lap. He looked down to see the boy, arms crossed over his lap, using him as a pillow. "What are you doing?"

"I'm _tired_." He mumbled. "That bed of your's is no good, way too soft. This body isn't used to it."

Atobe paused, unsure of what to do. It may have been someone else's mind, but it was Hiyoshi's body, and this was something he was _not_ used to.

"You seemed to be sleeping just fine for the past three days." He said, attempting to read the book from a distance with the small light on his left.

"That's because this body was tired. I used a lot of energy, of course it wouldn't be able to move."

"You keep saying 'this body' but I'd like to remind you," Atobe said with the slightest growl. "_That_ happens to be my _friend_, and I don't think I like you using him like an object."

Hao was quiet for a moment, and Atobe thought his words had hit something deep inside the demon. _Way deep_, he thought. All thoughts that the demon cared for his host were shot whe he heard a laugh.

"You are pretty interesting. I see why he likes you so much." Hao laughed, standing up to face him. "You better do a good job to make him happy, or I can't guarantee his mind being stable." A grin. "Remember your promise."

Before Atobe could question further, red eyes dulled to grey and the boy's body slumped forward, causing him to jump out of his seat to catch his uncoucious kohai. He heard the shorter boy groan, before letting go of his shoulders to allow him to stand. He watched as Hiyoshi rubbed his eyes - grey, he noted with a sigh of relief - and looked up at him.

"Ato... be..." He said sleepily. His eyes widened, head twisting left and right to get a look at his surroundings. "Where am I?" He said, his voice sounding dry. Atobe chuckled.

"My house." He said, and Hiyoshi looked up in confusion. "I carried you back here after the whole... thing... that happened. You've been asleep for three days."

"Three days?" Hiyoshi cried in disbelief. He slapped a hand over his mouth when Atobe gestured for silence, glancing at the digital clock on the desk. "Seriously?" Atobe nodded.

"Ootori said you were tired, so I just let you sleep in my bed for a while." He wasn't sure if he was seeing things or not because of the dark, but he could have sworn he saw a faint blush on the younger boy's cheeks. He would have pointed it out, if not for the many questions running through his head. "Are you okay?"

Hiyoshi nodded, turning to look at the books piled up on the table. He picked one up, and much like Hao did, opened it up to the bookmarked page. He raised an eyebrow.

"Is this a joke?"

Atobe groaned, covering his face with a hand. "You two, do you have nothing to do other than critisize me?" Hiyoshi looked at him. "I went to the library to see if they had anything on seals and demons, and took everything they had." Hiyoshi was quiet, reminding him too much of the demon he had just spoken with.

"Why?"

He dropped his hand, looking at the younger boy across from him. Did he just ask him _why?_ he wanted to say 'I'm doing it for you' but he had the feeling his words would either be taken the wrong way, or used against him by a certain demon. He thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully.

"Do I need a reason to help a friend?"

Hiyoshi stared at him, right into his eyes, as if looking for any hint of doubt. He sighed, closing the book and placing it on the table.

"You can't do anything." He said softly. Atobe opened his mouth to speak, but stopped upon seing the pained look in his successor's eyes. "If I couldn't do anything, you can't."

"You don't know that." Atobe said. "You can't decide something can't be done unless you try. I don't know about you, but I'm trying. I'm trying my best. Remember Wakashi, nothing his impossible, just difficult. And just because it's difficult doesn't mean it can't be done. I can at least try." He reached forward, placing a hand on the shorter boy's head. "I promise I'll breka that seal, I'll keep trying until I can't try anymore."

Hiyoshi looked up at him, and for a moment, he thought his words had gotten through to the light-haired boy. His hopes were quickly dashed when Hiyoshi gave him a small, pained smile, his eyes dimming. He reached up, lifting the larger hand off his head and holding it tightly.

"Atobe." He said, eyes sparkling with unshed tears, squeezing his hand. "Don't make a promise you can't keep, please."

He watched as the younger boy dropped his hand, turning around and walking back to the bed. he clenched his fists, watching as his teammate settled under the covers, falling asleep almost immediately. He took a deep breath.

"I'm not."

He wasn't sure if the other boy heard him, but he sighed and sat back down, opening the next book. He felt a tingling in the back of his mind, and a mocking voice.

_"Promises are meant to be broken."_

xXxXxXx

_Humans are social creatures. They can't stand the feeling of loneliness. The need to interact with each other in order to grow, in order to feel. They form relationships, bonds, and friendships, in order to avoid the pain of loneliness. If they get too lonely, their resolve begins to wither and eventually they become cold, heartless. Nothing._

_Then what does that make us?_

Shīzi strode through the halls, back straight, the perfect figure of authority.

Anyone who knew him would know this was all a lie.

_They crave light, they can't stand the darkness. But where there is light, there is shadow, no matter how small, it's there. They try to pretend like it's not, but they know it is. Yet they pretend not to know. Pretend that nothing is wrong. Why do they do this, when they know they can't hide from it?_

_And what about us, the one's who feed off the darkness of one's heart, the one's who need not interact with one another? Do we not feel?_

He stopped in front of a pure white door, the fading words on the wood fading away. He reached for the handle, and not even thinking twice before entering the dark room.

_There is always something. A question, an answer, another question. Will it ever end?_

He stopped in front of a desk, the sunlight from the window raining down on the blue-colored book.

_What are we, we who do not feel? We have no emotions, yet we speak. We do not feel loneliness, yet we live._

_If this is true, then why do I feel as though the world has closed in on me?_

He sighed, the small diary in his hands feeling as though it weighed far too much. He read the words on the yellow pages, the words written by the room's past inhabitant.

_it's painful, this feeling._

_It's as if I don't exist, as though I'm looking at a picture that I'm not in._

_Is this what they call loneliness?_

He sighed again, closing the book and putting it inside the pocket of his coat.

_If so, then what am I?_

xXxXxXx

A/N: Well, seeing as it's another one of _those_ nights, it seems I won't be sleeping anytime soon. See if you can guess who's diary entry that was at the end.

I hadn't meant for that part at the end to make it in there, but seeing as I fealt likt the chapter was too short, I decided, why not? That's actually something I had planned for Hao's actual story, where every chapter has a diary entry by him. Since it's technically not a fanfic, I'm not gonna put it here, but I might put it up on Fictionpress.

Two more chapters to go, then we get to go into part two.


	12. Chapter 12 Taking a break

A/N: despite wanting to update yesterday after getting home from the Cherryblossom festival, I decided to do whatever. Luckily, thanks to getting some fresh air, I was able to plan out this chapter a little better. I don't know if I said what season or month this fic was in, but as of now, it's spring.

Just to clear things up cuz I was actually a little confused while writing this: they met Hao on a Sunday, so chapter 11 was set on a Wednesday. This chapter is set on a Friday, two days later.

**Unseal chapter 12: Taking a break**

"I want to go outside."

Atobe turned to look at his younger teammate. It had been two days since they spoke, and that was the first thing he had to say? Though, it _has_ been a while since he's been outside, and staying indoors would have gotten boring eventually. Still...

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" He asked. He could see the younger growing frustrated at his response.

"I want to go outside." Hiyoshi repeated, sending him a glare. "It's been days and I'm getting sick of staying inside." Atobe sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Hiyoshi, I don't think-"

"You have a backyard, don't you?" He asked, eyebrow raised. Atobe nodded, and something sparked in his friend's eyes. "That'll do then, I don't care where I go, as long as it's outside."

Atobe thought about it. Choutarou had told him that, under no circumstances, was Hiyoshi to leave the house. The backyard was technically _in_ the house, so it was alright, right?

Right.

"Fine, change into something warm though, you know it's still pretty cold."

Hiyoshi ran over to the bag of clothes Choutarou brought over from his house, immediately saerching for the warmest pair he could find. Atobe sighed again, but smiled. It was good to see him so full of energy after sleeping for three days, then doing nothing for two. He watched as the younger boy ran into the bathroom to change and sighed, slipping a bookmark into the thick book.

His studies could wait. For now, he had to make someone happy.

xXxXxXx

"Dear lord, it's cold."

Atobe laughed, grabbing the shorter boy's arm when he tried to run back into the house.

"I warned you, didn't I? It's still spring, after all." He smirked when Hiyoshi glared at him. "Of course it's going to be cold."

"I dressed warm, and this is the thickest jacket I have." Hiyoshi said, lifting his arm up to show the sleeve of his blue denim jacket. The hood was furred, and he was wearing a black and white striped shirt that's sleeves just passed his fingertips. Atobe shook his head.

"Then you should have borrowed one of mine."

Hiyoshi huffed, looking around. It was the middle of spring, so he wasn't surprised to see the cherry trees in full bloom. He walked over to the closest one, staring as the pink petals floated down around him. He heard his captain approach, but didn't turn around. They stood on silence before Hiyoshi turned to look at him.

"Is there a corpse buried down there?" Atobe fixed him with a look that read 'what the hell?' before sighing.

"Do I _really_ want to know what's going through your head this time?" He asked, closing his eyes. He heard Hiyoshi hum.

"No, no you don't."

He heard the younger boy walk around the yard, staring at the grass. His eyes shot open when there was a familiar bark, and he turned just in time to see Hiyoshi be tackled by Beat.

"Buchou." He said from the ground, attempting to push the friendly dog away. "Can you get your dog off me?"

Atobe laughed, clapping his hands. Beat stood up, running over to his master. Atobe crouched down to pet the fluffy dog. Hiyoshi walked over, sitting down next to him.

"Why does he always do that? The other dogs are so much more... tame." He said, putting him hand out to stop the dog from jumping on him again. Atobe laughed.

"He's just friendly, that's all. Besides, I thought you liked animals." Hiyoshi rolled his eyes.

"I can tolerate them. Remember? Shiraishi-san has me take care of his cat, and Choutarou has one too. It's a bit of an attention hog though. And Shishido-sempai has a dog too, so I'm used to it."

Atobe chuckled. "Well, you better get used to Beat if your going to be here a while."

Hiyoshi punched him.

xXxXxXx

Atobe flipped through the pages of another book, this time one about curses. Why he didn't have more of them, he didn't wonder. The owner of the shop he bought them from refused to let him know if there were anymore of it's kind, so he was stuck with a total of only around five. The books he had already read were in a pile on the floor, devided by whether they were useful, or if they were just a waste of his time.

Choutarou and the rest of the team had come by to visit, after learning that their teammate had woken up. Only Choutarou was told about the conversation two days ago, because Atobe promised to call him if his friend woke up. He was happy, but his reaction to what Hao had said seemed to have drained away any excitement.

Speaking of Hao, Atobe realized he hadn't heard from the white-haired demon since. Hiyoshi avoided all subjects concerning him, and Choutarou seemed to be uncomfortable with the subject. He hadn't been confronted by him for two days, and he had to wonder.

What was he up to?

He sighed, flipping the page of his book. His eyebrows slowly rose, the headline of the page catching his attention. He slowly rose from his slouched position to lean in, eyes scanning over the words and symbols. He stood up, slamming his hands on the desk.

"I found it!"

xXxXxXx

A/N: And that's it. Honestly, I don't know why I had trouble with this extremely short chapter. Perhaps it's because I kept getting distracted, or maybe I just didn't feel like writing it. Either way, it's finally done. Just one more chapter til arc 2.

Some people may recognize the jacket I descibed as the same one from _Ano koro no Ouji-sama_, from their baby pictures. Everytime i think of him in a jacket that always pops up. I figured that since it was huge on him then, that it should probably fit. And the dog in the middle is something I remembered from the anime version of the Rikkai arc. I also remember Atobe having a lot of pets, so this could only be one of his many dogs.


	13. Chapter 13 Reminder

A/N: HEY LOOK AN UPDATE. Who woulda thought this fic would take so long to finish? And even then, it's not even really finished, seeing as I decided to split it into a sequel... that will probably take forever to upload. But I'm spamming Kagerou Project until I finish at least this, so let's hope I can go through with it! And to those of you still waiting on the last chapter of _**Underground Rainbow**_... I really messed up on that, honestly. I might have to extend it a few chapters, since I realized I missed a lot of little details. But hey, rainbows are supposed to have seven colors, right?... Not a legit excuse, I know, but I'm trying. Kinda. Not really.

**Chapter 13: Reminder**

"Buchou... where did you get that book?"

He honestly hadn't heard the door creaking open, nor did he notice the boy sneaking up on him from behind. He did, however, notice when wide eyes locked onto the large book in his hands. Hiyoshi was tense, almost terrified, and his voice was strained.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, not sure what the proper response to the boy's question would be. He was still staring at the book, pages open to a familiar circle. He sighed.

"Give it up, magic circles won't do any good." He said, although the apprehension on his face spoke otherwise. Atobe frowned.

"You're not telling me everything. Why," He held the book up, pages wide open, and watched as Hiyoshi took a step back. "does this concern you then?"

"It's..." He paused, glancing at the book once more before looking away. "It's the same one that got us into this situation. A seal can only be undone with the same spell, but I've been doubting the effectiveness of circles."

"Seems legit, seeing as you're in this situation now."

"I didn't think you'd actually find one, though." He said, purposely ignoring his captain's comment. "Besides, then spell won't work anyways." Atobe frowned again.

"Why not?"

"Because we need something of mine."

He nearly jumped out of his chair when Hao materialized next to him, leaning over to read off the page.

"Yup, that's the one. Totally ineffective, but I can't really talk." He ran his transparent fingers over the yellow pages. "I don't know how they got it to work in the first place, actually. I thought I'd gotten rid of all my old stuff."

Atobe sat up straight, turning the book back around. "It says here that you need an item that's valuable to the one being sealed." He read. "You're a demon, I didn't think you had important things." Hao frowned.

"I don't. At least, not anymore. I got rid of it all when I joined the Council." He crossed his arms, scowling at the carpeted floor. "I think..."

Hiyoshi sighed. "It's pointless to try with that, Buchou. We've tried other circles, but they've all backfired horribly." He shook his head. "We'll just have to keep looking."

"Someone's pretty negative today." Atobe smirked, adjusting his grip on the book. It was heavy, but Hao was still reading, and he didn't think it would be a good idea to interrupt him.

"Can you blame me? We're getting nowhere and it's not exactly _fun_ dealing with this situation." He sighed heavily. "I'm just... tired, is all."

Atobe stared at him for a moment, opening his mouth to speak, but Hao suddenly jumped up.

"Got it!" He exclaimed. He was grinning from ear to ear now, and both boys felt slightly unnerved.

"Got... what?" Hiyoshi asked, because Atobe didn't know if he could trust his own words.

"We can make it work." The demon said, grabbing Hiyoshi's hands. "I may have thrown everything away, but there's one thing we can use. But we need to go _there_ to get it."

" 'There'?" Atobe repeated. Hiyoshi furrowed his eyebrows for a second, before realization flashed in his eyes.

"Oh." He said, eyes widening. "_Oh_. I get it now." He turned to Atobe. "Buchou, how soon can we leave?" Atobe frowned—He'd been doing that a lot lately—and shook his head.

"You want to explain what we're doing, exactly? You know, so I can actually come up with a believable excuse to give my parents? It's kind of the middle of the school year, and I don't think they'd approve... much... of me leaving with our whole regualars team on a trip to China."

"The _whole_ team?" Hiyoshi had an expression between concern and annoyance. "Do we really need to take them?"

"They'd want to come, and I don't think Choutarou would let you leave the country without him for something like this." He gestured to the book now lying on his lap. "Besides, Jirou can translate if it comes to that?"

"Akutagawa-san? Isn't Chinese his worst class?" Hiyoshi asked, slightly surprised. Atobe smirked.

"He only hates it, it is by no means his worst class. Actually, he's quite good at it." He said. "When you hate something, you'd want to overcome it so that you'd never have to do it again, right?" Hao hummed.

"He's right, you know." He said, and Hiyoshi raised an eyebrow. "We're the perfect example, aren't we? We hate being stuck together like this, so we want to get out of it as soon as possible." He grinned. "Besides, your Chinese is shit, I would know."

Hiyoshi scowled, punching the demon in the shoulder, who laughed.

"Fine, but we need to go soon. Who knows how much longer we'll last like this." He said. "I can already _feel_ your murderous needs." At that, Hao stopped laughing and frowned.

"Okay, hey, that's not something I can help. If I die, you die. And if you die, Choutarou dies. remember that." Hiyoshi rolled his eyes.

"As if I could forget."

Atobe sighed, putting the book aside and clapping his hands. The other two jumped, looking at him.

"I understand your situation almost as well as I used to, but I still need to know your reasons for wanting to go to China." Hao raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't it obvious? I thought you were the smart one." He scoffed, and Atobe glared at him. "We're going to get something of mine so the magic circle will work."

Both males looked at him, Atobe with confusion and Hiyoshi with concern.

"Didn't you say you got rid of everything?" Atobe said, getting more confused with every word that left the demon's mouth. Hiyoshi shook his head.

"While I'm not entirely opposed to this, I don't think it's a good idea."

"It's mine anyways, there shouldn't be any problems. And it's not like there's anything keeping me here in Japan." He turned to Atobe now, face serious for the first time during their conversation. "I got rid of everything, but there are some things you just can't throw away. So I buried it."

"I see." The silver-haired boy said, turning around in his chair to grab his cellphone. "And where, exactly, are we going?"

Hao didn't respond. Atobe looked up.

"Hao?"

He turned his head away, red pupils thinning slightly.

"My house. The house I lived in... when I was human."

**xXxXxXx**

A/N: This was... not nearly as hard to write as it should have been. Maybe cuz I actually tried a little? Oh well, at least it's done after... how long? Anyways, next chapter will be the last one, before I split it off and work on the sequel. Also, I think after I finish with this and it's second part, I'm going to hold off on TeniPuri for a while. I don't know why, but it just got really hard to write the characters. I think it might be because I've been watching stuff outside the sports category, but after the whole _**Unseal**_ is over and done with, I'll be jumping into another fandom for a while. I'll still try to update some of my drabble fics, but that's a matter of getting ideas.

Also, I hate the new FF filter. I can't click the 'apply' button!


End file.
